


Here Be Dragons

by Kerkerian



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Banter, Dragons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, M/M, Mutual Caring, Not an actual fusion though, Romance, Set in Modern Times, Slow Burn, Temeraire Universe/Naomi Novik, mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-14 00:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15377007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: Danny Williams and his dragon Henry travel to Hawaii in order to heal and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. The first person they run into is one Steve McGarrett. And his dragon Aquila, of course.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sadly, I don't own Hawaii Five-0 or Temeraire.
> 
> The amazing 'Temeraire' series by Naomi Novik belongs to my all time favourite books and I can highly recommend it. You don't need to have read it to follow this story, though. Just a quick quote from Wikipedia:" The novels are works of both fantasy and alternate history: they are "a reimagining of the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars with an air force—an air force of dragons, manned by crews of aviators"."

 

March

The ship arrives at Honolulu Harbour in the early morning. Danny Williams is already up; in fact, he hasn't slept much during the night. Too many thoughts have been reeling in his mind, keeping him awake despite the calm rhythm of his dragon's steady breathing. It was long dark when he finally closed his eyes and leaned his cheek against the smooth, warm hide, listening to the great animal's heartbeat; usually, it does the trick, but not this time. He once more felt uneasy and rather intimidated by the notion of leaving everything behind and moving far away from home; to an island, at that. So he had stayed awake until the small hours of the morning; the last one on this transport.

It hasn't been an easy crossing because he doesn't like being at sea, but he has been able to suppress his anxiety pretty well, has kept himself occupied by reading whenever there was nothing else to do. They kept to themselves most of the time, which suited them well. Fortunately, Danny has brought all of their books, otherwise the journey might have become rather boring at one point. Luckily though, Henry likes it when Danny reads to him, therefore he has had the foresight to spend a considerable amount of money on a pile of new volumes which he added to their growing library.

But now, seeing the city slowly take shape as the morning mist dissolves and the ship draws nearer, Danny can't but feel a heavy sense of dread, his only consolation being that this is the place where his daughter is living now. He hasn't seen her in months, and it's been wearing on him in addition to everything else.

He snaps out of his dispirited thoughts when he hears Henry's voice quietly calling out to him; arranging his face and squaring his shoulders, he turns around to his dragon.

 

Steve McGarrett is just leaving the harbourmaster's office when the large transport begins to dock. It isn't an unusual sight, but the sheer size of such vessels never ceases to amaze him; he and Aquila have served on an even larger one, the U.S.S. Enterprise, and he doesn't want to miss that experience.

“Newcomers,” Aquila says, watching the docking and subsequent unloading with interest. Steve leans against his massive foreleg: “Mostly middleweights,” he observes. These days, the transports don't only dock at Pearl Harbor anymore because they don't exclusively carry naval personnel and their dragons.

“I bet they're glad that they'll get fresh meat,” Aquila says, at which Steve laughs quietly: “Are you ever _not_ hungry?”

Huffing, Aquila ignores him. The transport is mostly empty now and Steve is just about to turn away when he catches sight of another dragon on board; he looks like an Anglewing, his hide a yellowish-golden colour which glints magnificently in the morning sun. Something seems off, however; he is walking slowly and with measured movements, even though he carries a lightweight harness with a few boxes strapped to it.

“Probably bound for the sanitarium,” Aquila says, sympathy audible in his tone.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, there hadn't only been injured soldiers but many a dragon of the Pacific Forces who had been grievously wounded, therefore the first sanitarium for both dragons and their handlers had been built. It has been greatly in demand ever since, and while it's not the only one in the country anymore, it's supposed to be one of the best; some put it down to the climate, others to the healing properties of the volcanic landscape. Steve thinks that it's probably also got something to do with the staff working there, all of which supposedly are luminaries in their respective fields of expertise. Whatever the reasons, Steve still feels sorry for those who end up there; it usually means the end of their active service or work life, and not all of them manage to heal.

The Anglewing is now making its way down the gangway, a short, blond man at its side. Steve hasn't noticed him before; he's not wearing a uniform, but he seems to be the dragon's captain, keeping one hand up as if he could catch it if it should stumble, as if he could carry the approximately twelve tons even though he is walking with a cane himself, a little lopsided at that. It's endearing, somehow, and at the same time strangely sad; the man's expression is serious, desolate even, but as his dragon turns its head to look at him once they're on solid ground, he immediately puts on a braver face. Apparently, the dragon isn't fooled; it talks to the man, then nudges him gently, and for a moment, he just puts his free hand on its muzzle and stays like that, motionless and forlorn.

“Let's go say hello,” Steve suggests, and Aquila nods: “You go first. I don't want to intimidate them.” Which is a valid concern, seeing as the Grand Chevalier is an impressive heavyweight with his 40 tons.

Steve pats his leg, then walks down to the dock. He waves at the blond man, who is just looking around as if to get his bearings: “Aloha!”

Both the Anglewing and the man turn their heads and regard him; the man warily, the dragon with obvious curiosity. Steve nods at them: “Steve McGarrett, Five-0, and this is Aquila.” He points over his shoulder at his dragon, who is approaching slowly.

“You looked a little lost there, do you need directions?”

The man, who's been looking at Aquila, frowns: “Five-what?”

“Five-0,” Steve repeats, still holding out his hand. “It's the governor's special task force.”

After a glance at his dragon, the man hesitantly shakes Steve's hand: “Danny Williams, and this is Henry.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” His tone is quiet, subdued, just like his whole demeanour.

“Where are you headed, Mr. Williams?” Steve now asks.

“Makaha Valley,” Williams replies softly. Apparently, Aquila was right; it's where the sanitarium is situated.

Steve never misses a beat: “You flying there?”

“No,” the answer is even softer than before. “We can't.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Steve says kindly. “You can get there by ferry though, it stops at Pokai Bay which is only about three miles from Makaha Valley; there's a shuttle service from the marina.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Are you hungry?” Aquila now asks, looking at the smaller dragon.

Henry cocks his head: “Starving,” he admits more frankly than they expected.

Danny coughs: “He hasn't had breakfast yet,” he says apologetically.

“Me neither,” Aquila provides. “The harbour feeding ground's not far from here and we're on our way there, would you care to join me?”

 

Half an hour later, after both dragons have eaten their fill and their captains have wiped the remaining blood off their hides, Steve and Aquila take Danny Williams and Henry to the ferry.

Steve knows a little more about them now: that they served with the police at the east coast, that they were wounded in an explosion, that Henry's left wing was badly damaged and is partially immobile, probably forever.

“His lungs were affected as well,” Williams said quietly. “Which is one reason why we came here: apparently, Makaha Valley has the best specialists for this.” He didn't take his eyes off his dragon once while he talked.

Steve sighed: “I'm really sorry, man. How's he taking it?”

“He's very brave,” Williams replied, unable to conceal the pride and affection in his tone at that. “I know that he misses flying, we both do, but I'm just glad- “ he paused to clear his throat. “It was close.”

“I know how that feels,” Steve said after a moment. “We served in the Navy, had some scrapes ourselves.”

Danny nodded but kept silent. He looked tired, probably didn't sleep much on the ship.

“What's the other reason?” Steve then asked.

If Williams was surprised by his perception, he didn't let it on. “My daughter,” he said softly. “My ex-wife got married again after our divorce, and they moved here shortly before... it happened. I haven't seen my little girl since then.”

Steve heard the pain in his voice and felt an unexpected surge of camaraderie for him; apparently, he wasn't the only one for whom the blows just kept coming.

 

When the ferry comes in sight, Williams holds out his hand: “Thank you,” he says, trying for a smile that albeit doesn't quite reach his eyes.

“Anytime,” Steve replies, pulling a card out of his pocket which he hands to his new acquaintance: “Give me a call if you need anything.”

Williams looks at it, seemingly surprised, but doesn't say anything, just nods.

“Good luck,” Steve says, then he swiftly climbs up Aquila' harness with practised ease, straps himself in at the base of his dragon's neck and waves once more as Aquila leaps into the air and the ground falls away beneath them.

 

Back at HQ, Chin and Kono have been working at the tech table and look up in unison as Steve walks in.

“What took you so long?” Chin asks.

Steve tells them about Danny Williams and his dragon.

“Bummer,” Kono says sympathetically. “Sounds as though they could use some friends.”

Chin smiles the way he always does whenever he's proud of his cousin. “He must be a decent guy if he gives up his former life to be with his invalided dragon and his daughter.”

The others nod; Steve thinks that he'd do the same if he had to, but the thought is unsettling nevertheless.

 

That evening, when Henry has fallen asleep, Danny settles down in the crook of the dragon's leg with Steve McGarrett's card in his hand. He'll keep it for emergencies, though right now, he's too worn out to think about what those might look like; they are being cooped up here for an unforeseeable amount of time, after all. He's already called Rachel and made arrangements for her to bring Gracie here; she was reluctant at first and he can't even blame her, since she has no way of knowing what state he is in and he doesn't even have his own place, but in the end she agreed.

Part of him is glad that they've made it this far, not only because of Grace; he's relieved that Henry can now truly rest and recuperate. That maybe, against all odds and hope, he will regain a little more use of his wing, just to make him feel whole again; he's only three, for heaven's sake. Danny will never forget that horrible day; he doesn't remember all of it, but he vividly recalls the unexpected detonation, the noise and the invisible fist which seemed to slam into them, the terrified yelp Henry gave as he was being flung against the neighbouring building by a horrible, unseen force before everything went black. When Danny came to, people were scrabbling about, sirens were blaring in the background, and his dragon was not moving. Danny was partially trapped between Henry's bulk and the remains of a wall, barely able to move himself, and he remembers how he was trying to feel if Henry was breathing, that he was shouting the dragon's name until he was out of breath.

Later, he had refused to be removed from Henry's side, had mulishly clung to consciousness and the remains of the harness until someone finally confirmed that the dragon was breathing.

A shudder runs through him; he still has nightmares about it at times. Tenderly, he puts one hand on the warm scales to feel the gentle rise with every inhalation.

Once he was released from the hospital three weeks later, which was the earliest they'd let him go, he had made his way through the covert on crutches, which was painful and slow-going, since his hip and knee were still healing and he barely had any strength in his left arm and hand; he gritted his teeth and plowed on nevertheless. His parents had visited him and Henry every day, relaying status reports and, later, messages, but being separated from his ailing dragon had been excruciating.

When he stepped into Henry's pavillon, the sight of him made his heart constrict: the dragon usually lay curled up when he slept, but now he was lying half on his side, his left wing heavily bandaged. His eyes were closed, but as he heard Danny's footfall, he peered at him. When he saw who it was, he jerkily lifted his head, his eyes lighting up: “Danno!”

His voice was far too feeble. As fast as Danny could manage on the crutches, he made his way over to him, putting his arms around the large head and resting his own against Henry's forehead: “Oh, Puppy,” he murmured, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

They stayed like that for a long while, Henry's foreleg curled around him; later, Danny sat on the ground with his back to the wall so that Henry could rest his head against him.

He was coughing from time to time, and it was hard on Danny to see him like that, to know that he had been mostly on his own for the past weeks.

“I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” he murmured. “I didn't want you to be lonely, and I missed you terribly.”

Henry nosed at him: “My dear Danno,” he said softly. “I'm just glad you're here now.”

Danny stroked his warm hide and knew that he'd never leave Henry's side again.

 

The Law Enforcement Aerial Command contacted Danny four weeks later, offering him another position since it was clear that Henry wasn't going back to active duty for the time being, if at all. They had a few eggs which were going to hatch soon and wanted Danny to take one on, but he flat out refused. It cost him his job, the lion's share of his pension and a large part of his savings to ship Henry and himself to Oahu, but at least the stay at the sanitarium was fully financed by the Service Dragons Veterans' League, an organisation which had been founded after the First World War. Nevertheless, Danny needed to find a job in the foreseeable future.

The sanitarium itself is okay, situated on a large estate with beautiful gardens and an artificial lake; the dragons are being housed in pavilions which also provide accommodation for their handlers. It's only got the basic necessities like a narrow bedroom, a shelf, a small bathroom, a kitchenette and a chair with a reading light, but Danny doesn't really care; due to the institution's policies, Grace won't be able to stay with them overnight anyway, and apart from their books, he didn't bring much, therefore it doesn't take him longer than half an hour to unpack; apart from the books which line all the available shelves, the only other personal touch comes from a few pictures by and of Grace which he hangs on the walls.

Henry seems to like it however, and that's all Danny needs for now.

“The air is wonderful,” the dragon said once they settled down that night with a novel. “I think I shall enjoy it here.”

Danny patted his leg: “I'm glad to hear it, Puppy,” he said, and right then, he was beginning to breathe a little easier himself.

Of course, Henry had noticed how dejected Danny was feeling upon their arrival, therefore he nuzzled him gently: “Are you feeling better, Danno?”

Danny didn't want to lie to him, so he settled for a compromise: “I will be after a good night's sleep.”

Henry remained silent at that, but he tried to curl up around his captain as closely as he currently was able to.

Now Danny turns McGarrett's card over in his hand once more: he seemed like someone who's got things under control, someone who could talk about 'scrapes' while at the same time appearing indestructible. He struck Danny as tough-if-need-be, and his job appears to be a prestigious one; someone in his position probably can't really relate to the ruins that are Danny's life at the moment. Which is too bad, because the man was friendly enough and genuinely sympathetic. With a sigh, he puts the card in his wallet; he'll very likely forget about it in no time at all.

 

After two weeks, Danny has gotten used to the balmy air and the sound of the crickets serenading them to sleep every night. When they left New Jersey, it was snowing; here, the fact that it's technically still winter simply doesn't seem to matter.

He usually stays with Henry until the dragon's nodded off once Danny stopped reading; he'd prefer to sleep in the warm shelter which Henry provides, but his own battered body wouldn't thank him. In fact, he's also undergoing physical therapy for most of his left side, though his knee, hip and shoulder bore the brunt during the accident. He was incredibly lucky to not have sustained a head injury other than the bad concussion he had. Apart from that, he's glad that he's at least able to walk, which was nearly impossible in the beginning, and the warmer climate seems conducive to his healing injuries: back in Jersey, he could feel every change of weather in advance and felt his body creak and complain whenever it was clammy. Even though he feels far from his usual self on the whole, there's a definite, almost palpable change, which he tells his physical therapist one day. She laughs: “It's one of the reasons why people come here.”

The physical therapy is strenuous for both of them; Henry continues to be very brave, though Danny can tell how much the sessions are taking out of him. Often, once they've returned to their dwellings, they just snuggle up and nap afterwards. But Henry is also beginning to move a little easier, and the coughing is starting to decrease.

Danny called his parents every day during the first week, not quite admitting to himself how homesick he was feeling; it hasn't let up much, but he is also tentatively relieved about Henry's progress. It's slow, but it's there.

One thing they both enjoy very much is the lake. It's deep enough that Henry is submerged to his shoulders when he walks all the way in, and it's doing Danny's bruised heart good to see his dragon relishing in the sensation of being almost weightless. Apart from that, it's a tremendous relief to escape the heat on the hotter days; since the pavilion is situated in the shade of a few large trees, it's cool enough most of the time, especially when there's a slight breeze coming in from the sea. But on the days on which the temperature exceeds 80 degrees, it's getting rather warm as well. Which they aren't used to yet.

 

Sometimes, they see other patients, and they've met a few dragons at the feeding grounds; sometimes, a few friendly words are exchanged, sometimes the others don't talk or avoid eye-contact altogether. Whenever that happens, Danny feels bad for Henry, who usually thrives in the company of other dragons.

The only one he meets regularly is a middleweight of a pale blue colour who is helping with the physical therapy; her name is Indiska and she is rather introverted; she doesn't live on the grounds either.

At the police covert back home, Henry and his mates would chat or curl up together and nap in between operations, and Danny is aware that he is missing it; despite his reassurances that he is fine and doesn't need anyone else as long as he has Danny, the latter sometimes catches him in a wistful mood. He feels uncomfortable helpless on those occasions; all he can do then is to try and distract the dragon.

 

Danny and Henry unanimously agree that the day on which Grace visited them was the best one so far ever since they arrived on the island. It was on a Sunday which meant there were no therapy sessions.

Danny went to the large gate to meet her; he was nervous because he hadn't seen her in so long, and she had begun a new life in the meantime, was living with a step-father. Danny hadn't allowed himself to ponder this too much, but it had taunted him in the long hours of the nights on the ship as he lay awake; the notion that someone else got to be in her life everyday while he couldn't even talk to her as often as he'd have liked was almost physically painful.

Grace was just getting out of the car when he arrived at the parking lot; she had grown a bit, looking healthy and as sweet as usual; Danny was trembling. He knew that he didn't look the same he did when they last met, that he wasn't back to his old self yet; what if she was appalled? When she saw him however, she immediately launched herself at him: “ _Danno!_ ”

He dropped his cane and caught her with practised ease, holding her tight and feeling how she was doing the same, his eyes wet, his apprehension forgotten. It took a while until they were able to let go, and Grace kept a firm grip on his hand afterwards.

Rachel, who had tactfully been waiting in the background, looked him over with obvious concern before kissing his cheek and turning back to her car.

Grace talked all the way to the pavilion, asking after Henry whom she had loved ever since he was a little dragonet, and her voice was music in Danny's ears.

Henry had been waiting patiently, but as he saw them approaching, he began to paw the ground in anticipation.

Grace let go of Danny's hand and ran the last few meters, throwing her arms around Henry's head as far as they'd reach and pressing her cheek against his hide: “I missed you, Puppy!”

Henry, who had outgrown her by roughly 29 feet in less than a year, nuzzled her affectionately: “I missed you too, Sweetheart.”

Grace looked around their dwellings curiously; shortly after they had moved here, her mom had told her that Danno and Henry had been in an accident while they were working. She cried and wanted to go back home, which wasn't possible because of school and a thousand other things. She remembers how her mom cried as well, and in the end they had decided to call her grandma, who was visiting Danno every day. At first, Rachel wouldn't let Grace speak with her, but once her dad was doing better, she talked to her grandma on a regular basis. She and her grandpa also visited poor Henry, and they promised her to give both of them kisses and hugs. That way, Grace felt a little closer to them. When she was finally allowed to speak with Danno on the phone, more than a week had passed, but his voice sounded unusually thin, and it made her miss him even more than she already did.

She tried to call her dad on his birthday, but by then, Henry and he were already at sea and he didn't have any reception on his phone, so she couldn't reach him. Her mommy told her that it was okay, that her Danno knew his little girl was thinking of him, but that night, she lay awake and thought of him until she fell asleep.

She was glad to see that her dad had put up the pictures she had drawn for and sent to them in the meantime. It had been a long time for her as well, and she kept worrying about them; it was terrible that she was so far away. Which was why she had barely managed to fall asleep on the previous night; she had been so excited that her stomach kept making funny little jolts whenever she remembered that she was going to see her father and his dragon in just a few hours, and that they were going to stay.

As she sat with them now, snuggled up with Henry as she told them about her new school and the friends she'd made, she realized that she was still a little worried about them, even though her dad looked very happy right then. But she had seen that Henry was holding his left wing differently, and he was coughing from time to time, whereas Danno was limping and favouring his right side. She hoped that they were going to get better quickly now that they were here.

Later that day, they went swimming in the lake, and afterwards, when Henry was taking a nap, Danny made Spaghetti for them; it was the first time he actually used the kitchenette for more than making coffee and toast.

“I'm so glad you're here,” Grace told him before she left in the early evening, hugging him tightly once more, and that night, he went to sleep with a light heart for the first time in months.

 

To Be Continued


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos/kind words concerning the first part, I highly appreciate the feedback!
> 
> Those who've read 'Temeraire' will probably notice a reverent little bow towards it at one point. =)

 

 

May

One day, a courier lands on the large stretch of lawn near Henry's pavilion. It's in the middle of the afternoon, Henry's sleeping. Danny watches the captain dismount the small Winchester and head straight over to where he is standing: “Mr. Williams?” he asks.

Danny can only just stop himself from turning around to see if there are any other people by the name of Williams, because he isn't expecting any mail; his parents and he are talking on the phone, if less frequent than before. Instead, he nods and accepts the thin envelope with an air of trepidation, but when he looks at it, the courier already striding back to his dragon, he finds an unfamiliar logo on the front: _Five-0_.

Frowning, he opens the letter; there's a hand-written note inside.

 _Mr. Williams_ , it reads, _I hope you've meanwhile settled in okay. Aquila has been pestering me, wanting me to inquire about your and your dragon's well-being. He seems to have taken a liking to Henry, or maybe he's just curious. If you feel up to it, I'd like to invite you both to a barbecue at my house on Saturday, just a small gathering. Please give me a call._

_Best wishes, Steve McGarrett_

He has included his number even though he has given Danny his card. Still frowning, Danny slowly makes his way over to the kitchenette and looks at his phone which is lying on the counter; he'll have to ask Henry what he thinks about it. It'd be nice to get out of here for once, but on the other hand, he isn't too keen on putting Henry through the strain of public transport again.

 

That evening, Steve is sitting in the crook of Aquila's leg with a bottle of beer. The dragon's curled up comfortably on the lawn behind the house; they've gone swimming after work, and now they're watching the sunset together.

“Did he call?” Aquila asks.

Steve shakes his head: “Not yet. I'm not even sure if he will, though. Please don't be too disappointed if he doesn't, okay, Munchkin?” He strokes the dragon's warm scales.

“Do you think he didn't like us?”

“No, my dear. I think he was a little overwhelmed by the situation. Imagine having to move away from home to a place where you barely know anyone, and being injured at that. It's bound to be hard.”

“Yes.” Aquila's deep voice sounds thoughtful. “They must be very brave.”

 _Or desperate_ , Steve thinks. Aloud, he says: “I guess so.”

“It makes sense,” Aquila continues, “since they were working for the police as well.”

Steve subdues a grin at this logic: “Yeah. From what I gather, they were very good at their job, too.”

He has looked Danny Williams up in the meantime and found out that the guy's got an impressive résumé; before he transferred to the Police Aerial Squad, he was working as a homicide detective and solved no less than 87 cases. The reason for his joining the Aerial Squad reads like something out of a novel: during the course of an investigation, he and his partner were trapped in an abandoned building where they discovered a shipment of stolen dragon eggs, one of which was just beginning to hatch. One thing led to another, and in the end, the hatchling immediately bonded with the bewildered detective.

The fact that he had accepted the subsequent, rather major changes in his life, twice at that, to be with the dragon he obviously hadn't even expected to have, provided a rather interesting insight into Danny Williams' character. Steve had to admit that he was curious about this man, just as Aquila was curious about Henry: “He was very polite,” he now says. “And he said he likes books, just like I do.”

Steve smiles; when it comes to literature, Aquila is as insatiable as he is when it comes to food.

 

To Steve's surprise, Danny Williams does call him on the next morning and accepts his invitation. It's Henry who said he'd like to go, in turn very much surprising his captain. The dragon is indeed keen on meeting Aquila again; unlike a lot of other heavyweight dragons he's met, he seemed rather down-to-earth and easy to talk to. But his main reason is Danny; Henry senses that he is missing the company of other humans from time to time, and he's still looking sad sometimes when he thinks that Henry doesn't notice. Therefore, he wants him to meet new people, and Commander McGarrett's invitation seems a convenient opportunity.

 

The sanitarium provides a transport service via flat-bed trucks which have been specially modified for the larger dragons. They are common, though Henry and Danny never needed one before, since they used to fly everywhere. Which changed after the accident, but Henry said he actually enjoyed riding on a truck. To Danny, who rode in the passenger cabin, it didn't look very comfortable, and it still doesn't, but while they are making their way to McGarrett's house, Henry looks around with interest, his expression blitheful.

“There is much more colour here than in New Jersey,” he tells Danny once they've reached Piikoi Street. “And the trees are so green!”

Danny shakes his head, secretly amused: “You're such an aesthete sometimes.”

“I'm always an aesthete,” Henry corrects him. “I appreciate nice things.”

“I know, my dear. I remember your Christmas wish list.”

“Maybe _this_ year I'll get some gold,” Henry replies wistfully.

“Yeah. Remind me to buy a lottery ticket,” Danny mutters.

“Hi!” a voice calls out right then. It's McGarrett, emerging from a wide, overgrown alley which seems to lead into the garden. “I thought I heard something.”

Danny shakes his hand: “Thank you for the invite. Again.”

“My pleasure.” McGarrett smiles, waving at Henry: “Come on, Aquila's waiting for you.”

 

The property has its own stretch of beach, making Danny wonder if McGarrett's rich; on second glance though, it's the kind of place which seems a little too quaint to belong to someone with endless money and a fleet of interior designers. It's simple and cozy from what he can see, and the garden, though well-kept, is more of a large stretch of lawn which opens towards the waterfront. To the right, there's what looks like a pavilion; it's huge, and instead of a wooden roof it's got a thick awning.

Aquila, who was lying in the shallows, sits up on his haunches when he sees the other dragon, the water running from his grey and brown hide in little rivulets: “Henry! Nice to see you again! Would you like to come into the water with me? I’m fishing!”

Henry looks at him curiously, then turns towards Danny, who nods: “Go on if you like.” He watches his dragon as he slowly makes his way down to the beach.

McGarrett hands him a beer: “How’s he doing?”

He seems genuinely interested, and Danny finds that he doesn’t mind talking to him about the matter.

“The therapist says he’s improving, but it’s slow-going. He’s never complaining though, and I think he likes it here.”

McGarrett regards him: “But you don’t?”

Danny takes a deep breath, pursing his lips: “I’m getting used to it,” he says quietly. “It’s beautiful, there’s no denying that.”

Steve doesn’t push him; Williams doesn’t look as sad and worn out as he did when they arrived, but he doesn’t look happy either. Well, Steve muses, it’s a long stretch in between, so there might be some room for improvement.

“Well,” he says, “if you ever need a job- I’ve got to admit that I’ve looked you up, and I’ve seen your credentials. Five-0 could do with someone like you.”

For the first time, Williams now looks from Henry to him incredulously: “You what?”

Steve nods: “Come on, you’d have done the same.”

“You don’t know me,” Williams says, but his anger seems to abate as quickly as it flared up. In fact, he shakes his head and laughs quietly: “Why are you so interested in me?”

Shrugging, Steve takes a swig from his beer: “Just a gut feeling.”

Danny pinches the bridge of his nose: “Look, I appreciate this, even if your methods might be questionable. And I will need a job in the long run, yes. But I don't know-” He interrupts himself, looking over at Henry again, who is now trying the water. He walks in a few steps, then stops and turns around, obviously surprised: “Danno! The water's so warm!”

Danny can't help the fond smile that's spreading on his face: apart from the lake at the sanitarium, Henry's only ever been bathing in the Atlantic, and that's a different matter.

“Why's he calling you 'Danno'?” McGarrett wants to know.

“It's my daughter's nickname for me, and for some reason, it stuck with him as well.”

“How old is she?”

“She's eight. She had just turned five when I got Henry, and she loved him from the first moment on, and vice versa.”

Henry is now submerged to his shoulders, obviously enjoying it. Aquila tells him about the fish and how it's imperative to stand really still if one wants to see them up close, and how to catch them. And how a shark would never dare to get close to his captain as long as he's in the water with him.

McGarrett chuckles: “You should have seen Aquila, the first time he went in. He was the size of a baby elephant, and he loved it until the first wave caught him in the face. It took me a while to convince him to try again.”

Glad about the change of topic, Danny sighs: “Henry was the size of a Labrador when he hatched. Used to sleep on my lap.”

They turn around when there are more voices approaching, and McGarrett introduces Danny to his colleagues Kono Kalakaua and Chin Ho Kelly.

The ensuing small-talk soon revolves around police work, and Danny finds that he's enjoying himself as well; he misses his job, and these people are easy to talk to.

At nightfall, the dragons finally join the small party, curling up on the lawn next to each other.

 

It's past midnight when Henry and Danny return to their pavilion at the sanitarium, and both are very pleased with the evening. Danny is too tired to read, but he settles down in the shelter of Henry's forelegs nevertheless, his cheek resting against the warm hide: “You and Aquila getting along well, then?” he asks drowsily.

Henry hums in confirmation: “I like him very much. I'm glad he wants to be my friend.”

Danny smiles, closing his eyes: “Me too, my dear.”

“And do you like Steve and the others?”

By the end of the evening, they have all been on first name bases.

“I do. They're kind and they tell some funny stories.” He wisely doesn't mention the job offer. In his opinion, it'd be just cruel if he was able to return to a job in law enforcement when Henry can't. And Danny can't imagine ever working without him again anyway.

Yawning, Henry curls up a little tighter around him: “I liked swimming in the sea.”

“Oh dear,” Danny quips softly.

Henry, who doesn't know about Billy Selway, nuzzles him affectionately: “Don't you worry, Danno. I'd not let any shark eat you either.”

 

 

June

The next time they meet, again at McGarrett's house since the sanitarium doesn't allow visiting dragons with the exception of courier flights, Steve looks a little banged up.

“Comes with the job,” he says airily. Well; Danny has done some research of his own in the meantime, so he has an inkling that the job Five-0 is doing is a bit more eventful than conventional police work on most days.

 

Aquila greets them on the lawn this time, nosing at Henry affectionately: “How is your wing doing?”

“I am getting massages, which are very nice,” Henry replies. “But the exercises I'm doing are still rather painful.”

“Can you move it at all?”

“At first, not even a little bit. Now I can at least lift it again, but not unfold it.”

Aquila's expression is that of unconcealed sympathy: “Do you want to come into the water with me?”

Henry has actually been looking forward to it, so he nods eagerly.

Soon, they are splashing about in the shallows.

 

Steve and Danny are sitting on a pair of old chairs on the lawn with a beer, watching them.

“I thought we'd order some pizzas,” Steve says. “What do you think? I know a place which makes an amazing Pizza Hawaii.”

Danny scrunches up his nose: “With pineapple on it?”

“Ham and pineapple, yeah.”

“No, thank you. Pineapple on pizza is an abomination, if you ask me.”

“It's delicious!”

“I beg to differ.”

“Fine,” Steve grins, “I'll go get a menu.” Inwardly, he's glad about the banter; Danny's less reserved towards him, and Steve is planning on not giving up on recruiting him one day.

 

Over dinner, Steve tells Danny why he came back to the island and why he had to leave in the first place; his voice is pained and clipped as he talks about his mother's accident and his father's murder.

“We caught him in the end, and I shot him,” he mutters. “But it wasn't enough. It didn't bring my dad back, you know?”

Danny nods; he is a little stunned by all that he just heard. “I'm sorry, man,” he eventually replies in a low voice. “Must have been tough.”

Steve sighs, his eyes scanning the horizon: “Without Aquila, I'd probably have gone mad. He took me flying everyday, just the two of us without any crew; we even went to the other islands. It was a good way to clear my head.”

Danny smiles knowingly and a little wistful. “Henry and I did the same after Rachel left me. I stayed at a motel and I couldn't bear to be inside for too long. So whenever we weren't working, we went flying. I'm glad about that now, seeing as he might never be able to do it again.”

“Is that certain, then?”

Danny shrugs: “Initially, the surgeon said it was. Right now, I'm not so sure- he can lift his wing again, which seemed impossible a few weeks ago. But I don't want get his hopes up, or mine for that matter.”

His gaze is fond as he's watching the two dragons: “They didn't even want me to keep him at first. I wasn't an aviator, and it was an accident that I was present at his hatching and that he immediately took to me. I still have no idea how that went down, exactly.”

“You were trapped in a building, weren't you?”

Danny shakes his head at the fact that Steve knows this but answers nevertheless: “Yep, looking for a way out before the bad guys came back. And then there was this crate which started to make noises, so we opened it to find a load of dragon eggs, golden-brown with yellow flecks. At the time, I didn't know which breed they were, of course, but I figured that they must be worth a lot if someone made an effort to steal them.”

Steve nods; he knows that Anglewings are sought after because of their unique ability to maneuver during flight, especially in narrow spaces, due to the particular shape of their wings.

“Anyway,” Danny continues, “one of them was moving, and the shell had begun to crack. So naturally, my first instinct was to close that crate again and hope for the best, but then a tiny little talon appeared. I couldn't leave it alone, so I stayed with the egg while my partner finally managed to force open a barricaded window on an upper level. So there I was with a freshly hatched baby dragon wrapped into my jacket, climbing through broken glass and wooden beams, with sharp edges everywhere and the threat of being shot at still hanging over my head. And the first thing which Henry said to me was 'Why are you frowning?'”

Steve laughs: “Really? He wasn't scared?”

Now Danny looks a little sheepish: “Well, I had helped him with the hatching, so he had seen my puppy face first.”

“Your puppy face?”

“That's what Gracie calls it, my daughter. She says it's the face I'm making at puppies and baby dragons. And her, sometimes.”

Steve hums, amused:“So what did you do to keep Henry?”

“I talked to my chief, shamelessly pulled the 'highest clear-up rate of the precinct'-card and asked for a transfer. He managed to put in a good word for me.”

“Quite a story.”

“Yeah. And now we're here.”

Steve regards him from the side: “Sounds like you still aren't sure if it's where you want to be.”

Danny shrugs again: “My daughter's here, and my dragon's being helped by a team of professionals who know what they're doing. Plus, he's made a friend. And both Grace and Henry like it here. So I'm fine.”

“But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“How are you feeling?”

“I just told you I'm fine.”

“But you don't like it here.”

“Why is that so important?”

“Because this is as much about you as it is about them. At least it should be.”

Danny laughs quietly: “No, it isn't. I'm responsible for them. Well, Gracie not as much as I'd like anymore, but still... as long as she's happy, I'm happy. Same goes for Henry.”

Steve nods, realizing that Danny is as stubborn as they come, and decides to let it go for now.

“It's okay to be selfish once in a while,” he only says.

Danny remains silent.

 

That night, he lies awake, pondering the matter. It's not that he doesn't like Hawaii per se; he's not blind to the beauty around him after all, and the people are friendly. He just doesn't like how the situation was sort of forced on him, and it is so very different from everything he knew before. In Jersey, he had a family and a job he was good at. He knew the ropes. Here, it's different: he's a patient, he doesn't have a job and he barely knows anyone. The fact that he's surrounded by water doesn't make it easier. So all he can do for now is to be grateful that he's close to his daughter and that his dragon's still with him, and that their health is improving. He simply doesn't dare to wish for anything else beyond those landmarks because he's learned the hard way how quickly and easily the rug can be pulled out from under one's feet.

Speaking of which: boy, was he wrong in his initial assessment of Steve- here's a guy who definitely knows about how easily a life can be shattered to pieces, and then again. How he still manages to get up every morning and function is beyond Danny.

 

To Be Continued

 

 


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An earlier update than intended, but I might be going away for a while and will not be able to do it then if that's the case.  
> Again, thank you all for leaving kudos or some kind words!

 

 

July

A few weeks later, Danny and Henry have just returned from the feeding grounds when Danny's phone rings; it's Steve.

“Listen, Aquila is turning twelve on Saturday,” he says. “Traditionally, he gets to choose what we're doing on his hatching day, and this year he'd like to invite you two over, apart from Chin and Kono. We'll have a brunch and then a barbecue in the evening.”

“Sounds good,” Danny hears himself say. “But I'm having my daughter on Saturday.”

“Bring her along, then,” Steve suggests. “I'm sure she'd like it here; she can swim if she likes.”

Danny hesitates: “I'll have to ask Rachel, and Gracie.”

“Okay, you do that and call me back.”

Rachel is reluctant at first, but when she hears that Steve is the leader of Five-0, she agrees to ask Grace, who of course is all for it as soon as she hears that there's going to be second dragon and a private beach.

They agree to meet there.

Steve is happy to hear that they'll come, and Danny asks him what kind of gift Aquila would like.

“You don't have to give him anything,” Steve replies. “But if you insist, he really loves books.”

“Another thing he and Henry have in common,” Danny says, unaware that he is smiling.

 

They spend an hour brainstorming which book they should give Aquila; fortunately, Henry and he have talked about their favourite ones already, so at least they know which ones he already might have heard. In the end, they decide on “Antarctica” by Gabrielle Walker, which deeply fascinated Henry. Since it wouldn't arrive in time if they ordered it, they take their own copy, wrapped in festive paper Danny bought at the small convenience store near the sanitarium.

 

On Saturday, Rachel pulls up shortly after the transport has left again; Grace is wearing a pink dress and carrying her backpack: “I brought my bathing suit,” she says excitedly.

“Great,” Danny says with more conviction than he feels. “Listen, the other dragon I told you about-”

“Aquila,” Henry interjects helpfully.

“Right- he's a heavyweight, meaning he's a lot bigger than our Puppy here, okay?”

“I'm not scared of big dragons, Danno,” Grace states categorically. “Can we go in now?”

Danny and Henry exchange a look: “Sure.”

 

Aquila is beaming at them: “You came!”

“Happy Hatching Day,” Henry says brightly, “we brought a present!”

“Happy Hatching Day, big guy,” Danny follows up, squinting up at the large animal. “This is my daughter Grace.”

“Nice to meet you, Grace.”

“Happy Hatching Day,” Grace echoes, eyeing Aquila as curiously as he eyes her.

“Thank you very much,” Aquila replies, lowering his large head. “I'm very happy indeed that you're all here.”

Grace now takes something out of her bag: “I made this for you.” She holds up a picture she drew, of an island with palm trees and a yellow dragon with copious amounts of gold glitter on it.

“Oooh, for me?” Aquila tilts his head and peers at it: “That's Henry, isn't it?”

“Yes!”

“I like it very much. I'll ask Steve to put it up in my pavilion. Thank you, keiki!”

He's also delighted about the book, which he doesn't know yet.

 

While Henry and Aquila show Grace the beach, Danny and Steve pour themselves some coffee; soon afterwards, Chin and Kono arrive, and they all sing “Happy Hatching Day” for Aquila, who paws the ground in his excitement. Steve's had a huge cake made for him; once he's blown out the candles as gently as possible, he shares the remains with Henry while his guests are starting on the brunch.

 

It's a good day, all things considered. Grace goes swimming with Kono, who teaches her how to stand on a surf board and ride the smaller waves, and later on, they are joined by the dragons. Grace is even allowed to sit on Aquila's neck, her face glowing with pride.

Danny is glad that he doesn't have to go into the water but that his little girl is having such a good time nevertheless.

That evening, Grace falls asleep in his arms as they are sitting around a campfire. It's past her bedtime, but Rachel was generous and agreed to come get her around ten, since it's the weekend. And Danny once more realizes how much he misses this; back in Jersey, he used to read to Grace every night when he wasn't working, and he misses that he doesn't get the chance to do so anymore.

Aquila is dozing as well, worn out by his special day; Henry is lying close to him, and his eyes are beginning to droop.

“Why don't you stay overnight?” Steve asks Danny in a low voice. “I've a got spare room.”

Danny wants to decline the offer at first, but then he glances at his dragon, who's so obviously content and happy, and nods. “If we're not putting you out...”

“Not at all.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Steve smiles; Danny is different today, undoubtedly because of his daughter: he looks at Grace with unconcealed adoration and love, and it's obvious how happy her presence makes him; Steve's glad to have seen this new side of him.

 

Later, once Grace has been picked up by Rachel and the party has come to an end, Danny is sitting on the bed in the guest room and looks around: it's simple but cosy, with white painted wooden walls and patio doors which open up to a balcony above the garden, where he can just about make out the bulk of Aquila's back. He feels strangely far away from Henry though he's right outside and was rather delighted to be staying with his friend; he's just not used to be separated from him anymore.

With slow movements, he undresses and crawls under the covers. He can count the times he's met McGarrett on one hand, and yet it feels as if they've known one another much longer.

 

On the following morning, Aquila and Henry are already out fishing when Danny gets up; Steve’s nowhere to be seen, but there’s a towel lying on one of the chairs by the beach.

Danny walks down to the water and watches the dragons; after a while, he notices something else, a blob which gradually turns into a swimmer. It’s Steve, who rises out of the water like a mythical creature, shaking himself before he notices his audience. Grinning, he waves at Danny: “Morning!”

“Morning. Been to Japan for breakfast?”

Steve grabs his towel: “Nah, only made it as far as the big island.”

“Well, as long as the pancakes are good… Though I guess mine are probably better.” Truth is he hasn’t made any in a really long time; Grace used to love them, and they were part of their weekend rituals. But those are gone, and he doesn’t really cook for himself these days.

“Let’s make some, then,” Steve suggests, unaware of the pang Danny feels at his words- a mixture of nostalgia and an acute craving for something he can't have, something he can't really name. A home, maybe, a place he belongs. Seconds later, he chides himself for being silly- he's got Henry and he's seeing Grace on a regular basis, so he shouldn't feel sorry for himself.

A small but insistent voice in his mind objects, telling him that it'd be easier if he had his own place, that it'd be a big difference if Gracie could stay for the whole weekend instead of only a day, but he quickly quells it, not wanting to start the day with misery.

Therefore he nods: “'kay. You make the coffee, I'll make the pancakes.”

 

While Steve showers, Danny prepares the batter. It's nice to have a proper, well-equipped kitchen for once, and he enjoys going through the motions. When Steve comes in ten minutes later, the first few pancakes are nearly done.

“Smells fantastic,” he says, taking a bag of coffee beans out of the fridge. “Do you have a secret ingredient?”

“If I told you, it wouldn't be secret anymore,” Danny replies. “But there isn't one anyway.”

 

They have breakfast out on the lanai; the dragons sit down next to it when they finally leave the water and munch on some watermelons.

Henry has taken a liking to fish and is very proud that he managed to catch a large one today.

“A tunny,” Aquila tells him. “They're my favourite.”

“I think they're my favourite as well,” Henry replies dreamily, which has Danny and Steve laughing.

“There are more of them further out,” Aquila says. “I sometimes fly away from the shore to catch them.”

At that, Danny looks down on his plate, but Henry doesn't seem afflicted by his friend's words: “I'd like to do that,” he says softly, then, more determined, he lifts his head a little higher: “Promise me we'll fly there once my wing's alright again.”

Aquila nudges him: “Of course I promise!”

Steve looks from him to Danny, who excuses himself and gets up, not meeting anyone's gaze as he limps into the house. Fortunately, the dragons haven't noticed the change in the mood, and keep talking about all the fish they're planning on catching.

“Can we go back and just watch the small ones in the shallows?” Henry now suggests, and Aquila nods.

As they get to their feet, Henry looks over at Steve: “Where's Danno?”

“He just went to the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay.”

As the dragons return to the beach, Steve gets up and follows Danny.

He finds him in the kitchen, leaning against the worktop. His eyes are wet with tears and he's biting on his hand as if having to keep himself from screaming.

“Hey,” Steve says softly, feeling helpless. He's unsure whether he should touch his friend; this is still new, after all, there are too many things he doesn't know about the other yet.

Danny wipes his eyes: “Sorry about this,” he manages, sounding breathless and choked, “I don't-”

“Hey,” Steve repeats with more force, throwing caution to the wind and placing one hand between Danny's shoulder's blades; he can feel how he's trembling. “Nothing to be sorry for.”

Danny stares at a fixed point somewhere in front of him: “It's just... He's so damn brave, and he's never given up hope, what if it won't work? What if he can't fly again? He'll be devastated, and I'm afraid...”

He breaks off, beginning to sob uncontrollably now. It's the first time it happens ever since the accident, and even though he's ashamed to be breaking down like this, he just can't stop it. He can't bear the notion of Henry suffering anymore than he already is and has been, and it's been weighing on him more than he even realized. What is he supposed to do if his dragon will have to accept such a fate? What if he won't accept it, succumbing to despair instead?

Danny almost feels physically ill at that thought; something like a wail escapes him, an epitome of the raw pain he's feeling, of everything they've been through and how it's still not over yet.

Seconds later, he feels himself engulfed by warmth as Steve wraps his arms around him, holding him in a gentle yet firm embrace. Danny sags against him, not caring that he might come across as a weakling right now; it's been a long time since anyone held him like this, taking the burden off his shoulders for a little while by just being strong for him. It doesn't matter that Steve's a stranger, more or less, because Danny can't do anything about the situation for now anyway.

And Steve patiently holds him, stroking an irregular rhythm on Danny's neck with his thumb and humming soothingly into his hair from time to time. Gradually, the sobbing abates until Danny's relatively calm again, hiccuping a few times before he's entirely silent. Steve doesn't relinquish his grip on him until Danny pulls back of his own accord, wiping his hands over his eyes.

“Sorry,” he mumbles again, not meeting Steve's gaze. The former SEAL gently cups Danny's neck with his hand, a strangely intimate gesture, but Danny doesn't shy back.

“Still nothing to be sorry for,” Steve says, a sad, understanding smile on his face. “I've been there, okay? Life's not always been friendly to me either. So no need to feel ashamed.”

Danny tries to laugh, hiccuping again: “Thanks.” He sniffles: “I guess that wanted out.”

Steve's still regarding him with nothing but sympathy and affection: “It's good that it did. Crying is very cathartic once in a while.”

“Yeah.” Danny takes a shuddering breath; so much for not wanting to start the day with misery. “Still- sorry for ruining the mood.”

“Mood's not ruined at all.” Steve's smile deepens: “That's what friends are for, right? Having each other's backs and all.”

Danny manages a small laugh now: “Yeah, I guess... Friends. So we're friends, you and I?”

Steve shrugs: “I liked you from the first moment on, and I like spending time with you. Pretty much feels the evidence is weighing in my favour.”

Shaking his head, Danny regards him as he wipes his eyes once more: “And you think it's a given that I like you as well?”

At that, Steve grins: “Absolutely.”

Danny can't not laugh at that.

“Well,” he then mutters. “The pineapple-on-pizza issue hasn't been resolved, of course. But since my daughter and my dragon kind of approved of you already...”

“Come here.” Steve pulls him in for another hug. Both their t-shirts are wet, but it doesn't matter. Danny briefly closes his burning eyes, glad to officially have found someone who's got his back.

 

The dragons haven't noticed anything, since they're still occupied with their fish, and Danny's relieved not to have to explain his puffy face to Henry.

Steve pours them another coffee, then proceeds to stir butter into his mug. Danny watches with appalled fascination: “What're you doing?”

“It's good for you, boosts energy and enhances brain function. You should try it.”

Danny grimaces: “I don't need anything enhanced, thank you very much.”

Steve grins, leaning back in his chair and looking over at the dragons. “My dad left me a hint,” he then says unexpectedly. “A toolbox he wanted me to find. It's full of what looks like case evidence, and he's recorded stuff about an investigation. I'm getting nowhere with it.”

Danny, who's been listening attentively, shrugs: “Do you want me to have a look at it?”

At that, Steve's gaze returns to him: “Yeah,” he says, as if the idea has only now dawned on him. “Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Fresh pair of eyes and all that.”

Danny examines every single piece carefully: “You should take pictures of everything,” he then says. “Make an inventory. Sometimes lists help.”

Steve, who's standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, nods: “Okay, I'll do that.” His stance remains tense, as if he's waiting for Danny to present him an unexpected revelation.

Danny however shakes his head: “The photos suggest that the car was destroyed in a detonation if this here are the remains of an explosive device.” He points to a close-up shot.

Steve nods.

“Looks like it's been important to him,” Danny offers. “Do you know about any unsolved cases which were standing out for some reason?”

Steve shakes his head; it once more becomes painfully clear how little he knew his dad in certain regards. “I'd have to ask Chin,” he mutters.

Danny is taking up the photos of the car wreck again: “This is time-stamped on the back, did you see?”

Steve frowns; he's looked at everything, but he either didn't notice the date or it didn't click if he did; well, to be fair, he looked at the things on the day of his father's funeral, with his blood still on the living room wall. So maybe, he wasn't at his best that day.

When he sees the date now however, a shock runs through him, and for a moment, he is unable to think. When he finally gets a grip on himself, he is white-faced and visibly trembling: “This is the day on which my mother had her accident.”

Danny's gaze lingers on him for a moment, full of concern, then he looks at the photo again: “Doesn't look like an accident to me,” he says cautiously.

Steve shakes his head, his thoughts still reeling. Silently, Danny goes to get him a glass of water, which he hands his friend; for a while, neither of them speaks, but Danny keeps his hand on Steve's back until he's calmed down enough for the trembling to stop.

 

That evening, Steve lies in the hammock next to Aquila's pavilion, listens to the dragon's quiet snoring and ponders the weekend. Ponders his parents and the damn toolbox until his head begins to hurt. If it was murder and his dad knew... He doesn't know what's worse, his anger or his grief.

After an hour of tossing and turning, he gets up. For a moment, he looks out at the ocean, listening to the steady repetition of the surf against the shore, then he walks over to the pavilion. He can hear Aquila's quiet breathing, slow and evenly; with fluid motions, he climbs up on the dragon's foreleg and settles against his chest.

“'swrong?” Aquila slurs, barely awake.

“Nothing, Munchkin,” Steve says softly, stroking the warm hide, “go back to sleep.”

He thinks back to that day, the day of the accident which apparently wasn't one. How it felt as though a hole had opened up under him, how he couldn't think clearly for days on end, feeling as though he was separated from the world around him by a plastic bubble, a vacuum which soaked up all sounds. But it wasn't only him, was it? He remembers how Mary kept clinging either to him or his father; he can still feel the arm of her Barbie doll digging into his shoulder as she held on to him like a vice. He can't remember what he did, if he had any words of consolation for her; he fears that he didn't, that the little girl was pretty much having to fend for herself until their aunt Deb arrived from the mainland.

He vividly recalls his dad's face, drained of all colour; he moved about like a zombie, someone who didn't know what to do with himself and for whom even walking in a more or less straight line was barely possible. Ever since that day, John McGarrett has been weighed down by grief, making him look older than his actual years most of the time. If he knew that it wasn't an accident... God. Steve closes his eyes, wants to shake his dad and hug him at the same time. But he can't, and thinking about all of this is almost physically painful.

Therefore he presses his cheek against Aquila's velvety scales and forces himself to think of something else instead. Inevitably, he ends up with his mind on Danny. It's true that he liked him from the first time they met, and everything he's learned about the guy in the meantime is just adding to that. Therefore he's glad that they're becoming friends, because apart from Aquila, he doesn't have a really close one. Not since Freddie.

As much as Steve loves Chin, they've always kept that last bit of a distance; maybe it's because Chin was trained by Steve's dad, has spent so much time with him as a young adult that Steve never had. Or maybe soulmates do exist, after all, and he's just lucky enough to have found another one after losing his first. At any rate, Steve is glad that Danny's in his life now, and he's determined to help him in any way he can.

 

Danny's also lying awake that night, huddled against Henry's chest and listening to the great animal's heartbeat. He's still vaguely embarrassed about his breakdown, but Steve actually managed not to make him feel as humiliated as he could have been, on the contrary: he seemed genuinely concerned and also rather unfazed, telling Danny that he'd experienced this kind of despair himself and had reacted similarly. And now they officially are friends. Danny thinks of the kindness Steve and Aquila have shown them from day one, even though he himself has been reluctant, and is grateful that they have had the fortune to meet this man and his dragon.

Gently, he runs his hand over his own dragon's warm scales, still down with sorrow. Henry, for all his impressive size, has such a small, vulnerable soul and such a big heart; Danny wishes him nothing but happiness. On top of everything else, it pains him that he can't give him everything he needs. After they got back from Steve's that day, Henry had asked him whether they could buy such a nice house with a beach one day, and Danny didn't have the heart to tell him that they'd never be able to afford such a place, but mumbled something about having to win the lottery first.

Poor Steve would probably give his house and his right arm without thinking twice though if he could go back in time and prevent his parents from getting killed. And discovering that his mom apparently was murdered... he must be devastated. Danny, who is no stranger to grief and heartbreak, wishes he could help with that; as it is, there isn't much he can do, apart from being there for his friend.

It's very late when Danny finally falls asleep, and his dreams are dark and full of trepidation.

 

On the following morning, Danny is just returning from his physical therapy session when someone approaches him, waving: “Danno!”

He's so surprised to see Steve that he doesn't even register the nickname. “Steve- what are you doing here?”

“Had some business at Pokai Bay and thought I'd stop by. Aquila's gone back to catch some fish, but he says hello.”

“Er- thank you. Would you like some coffee?”

“Yeah, sure.” Steve smiles and Danny leads the way to the pavilion, walking slowly because he doesn't have his cane. “Henry's still at his session.”

“And you're not using your cane because?”

“I'm supposed to use it less every day.”

“But you're still limping rather badly, if I may say so.”

“Yeah, that's because I've just had my PT session and it's a little tender.”

“That doesn't sound right.”

“I know.” Danny gives him a slightly pained smile. “Gotta be patient, no pun intended.”

 

While Danny makes the coffee, Steve looks around the pavilion with the same curious interest as Grace.

They sit down at the small table and are silent for a moment. Danny studies Steve's pale, weary face, wondering how to broach the elephant in the room, but Steve forestalls him: “You look tired,” he says with a small smile.

“Yeah,” Danny runs a hand over his face. “Couldn't sleep last night. Had a lot to think about.”

“Henry?”

“Yeah.” Danny looks at his hands and the mug he's holding; it's something else he's got to be patient about.

“You know,” Steve says slowly, “I might have an idea how to take your mind off your worries.”

Danny lifts his head: “Really? How?”

“You could work for me.”

“Haven't we been over this before?”

“Once. Months ago. Now before you say no again- I'm not talking about active field duty, that's obviously not gonna work yet.” He glances at Danny's knee. “But we could do with an additional pair of eyes and ears, someone who can back us up at HQ if need be.”

Danny's mouth quirks up a little: “And this doesn't have anything to do with that toolbox of yours?” he asks.

Steve cocks his head: “Nah; I knew you were sharp before that.” He grins, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

“You okay?” Danny asks quietly.

Heaving a breath, Steve looks around the room before he meets his friend's gaze: “I will be. Once I've found out what happened back then.”

Pursing his lips, Danny considers this: “For what it's worth: I'll help you in any way I can,” he offers. “If you want me to.”

“Then work with me.” Steve regards him with a sober expression now, grateful for the support.

“I'd love nothing more than to work with you,” Danny says, a little surprised himself. “But I can't. I've got my daily PT sessions and apart from that- I can't do it to Henry. He'd be alone, and he'd be devastated if I went to work without him.”

Steve blinks: “Who said you'd have to come without him?”

“Well-”

“Our headquarters are at Iolani Palace; the ground floor offices have been modified so that they open up to an inner courtyard which has enough room for at least two heavyweights. It's accessible through a large gate, so Henry can simply walk in.”

Danny worries his bottom lip with his tongue; it does sound tempting. “We still have our physical therapy sessions to attend.”

“Maybe if we talk to the director?” Steve suggests. “I'm sure they could adjust their schedule. You wouldn't have to work the whole day, so maybe we can arrange for something.”

“ _We_ , huh?” But Danny smiles.

Steve smiles back: “So, how good are you with computers?”

 

It turns out that the director of the sanitarium, after an entirely coincidental call from the governor, is more than willing to have Mr. - _Detective_ – Williams' schedule changed and the daily transport to and from Iolani Palace arranged.

Apart from that, it also turns out that Steve is certifiably insane, which Danny finds out on the very first day on his new job.

First off, he is almost ridiculously happy to be working again, and Five-0 is amazingly well equipped; he's confident that he'll be able to handle the tech table without too much help. As it is, Chin and Kono are happy to welcome him to their team, and if Danny had any misgivings about his current physical disabilities beforehand, he forgets about them after the warm reception he and Henry are receiving (though the teasing about his tie seems a bit over of the top; seriously, can't one be Aloha and still look professional?).

Aquila's so happy to see his friend that he paws the ground until Steve tells him to stop because of all the dust he's raising. The Grand Chevalier's wearing his harness so that he's ready to go at all times, but for now, he and Henry curl up in the courtyard and talk.

The team are called out to a case around eleven, and Steve dangles a suspect from a roof by his ankles at precisely 2:54 p.m.

Apparently, Kono and Chin are accustomed to this kind of crazy because they don't even comment on it, but Danny tells Steve in no uncertain terms that he didn't agree to work for a psychopath before rounding on Chin and Kono, demanding to know why they didn't tell him that Steve was nuts.

Chin, keeping a remarkably straight face, just raises one eyebrow at that: “We're used to it, Brah.”

Steve has the audacity to snicker at that.

 

Nevertheless, it feels so much better to be useful again that Danny, despite his threats to quit, returns to Iolani Palace on the following day. It means having to get up very early in order to keep their physical therapy appointments, but neither he nor Henry really mind.

Henry, once Aquila and the team were gone on the previous day, moved closer to the building and hunched down so he could poke his head inside and peer at the screens. Danny stroked his warm hide from time to time and answered his questions; all in all, it was nice to have his dragon close, and he actually provided some useful input. Therefore, he was eager to return to work as well, despite Danny's after-work rant about proper procedure and why it was not okay to just do whatever one liked.

 

Steve looks at his new team-mate with a broad, goofy grin when Danny walks in on the second day: “Changed your mind about quitting?”

Danny scowls at him: “Shut up.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amazing "Antarctica" was only published in 2013, but hey- artistic license and so forth. =)


	4. Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since my going away has been postponed for a bit, on with the story! As always, thanks to those who left kudos or a few words.

 

August

To be fair, Steve isn't only insane but also very capable at what he's doing; the whole team is. And Danny can't deny a bit of jealousy whenever they are called away and he's the only one not climbing aboard Aquila before the large dragon leaps into the air. Henry also looks at little wistful every time, but Danny usually is at his side by then, and they draw mutual comfort from each other's presence.

Aquila is as sympathetic as Steve when it comes to these matters, so usually, he tries to cheer Henry up after their return, or he just nuzzles him silently for a while. It takes only a few weeks until they make it their habit to snuggle up together whenever they nap.

A few days after he joined Five-0, Danny meets Max Bergman, their resident medical examiner. He regards Danny with a solemn expression: “I've heard about the circumstances which brought you here, Detective,” he says. “I hereby wish to express my sympathies. Hopefully, you'll be blessed with better fortune from now on.”

Danny glances at Steve, who looks as though he's hiding a smirk: he's always like that, his expression says.

“Thank you,” he then replies as he shakes Max' hand. “I hope so, too, considering whom I'm working with.” This time, his look in Steve's direction is more pronounced.

 

Even without Steve's antics, it doesn't always go smoothly, of course. Four weeks in, McGarrett's been in the ER twice, Kono once and Chin not at all, but only because he insisted that he was fine and his girlfriend was a doctor, after all. Apart from that, Kono's been held hostage and Aquila only barely managed to dodge a missile.

Henry fusses over his friend when he hears this, and that evening, he tells Danny that he's quite happy his captain doesn't do active field duty at the moment. Danny sighs, refraining from replying that he'd actually rather have the others' back out there than from afar. But all in all and despite Steve's obvious lack of sanity in certain situations, he's content. It's nice to have some place here on the island where he belongs now; Steve calls Five-0 his ohana, and Danny feels less and less like the odd one out. He enjoys the occasional after-work beer with the team, and it's ridiculously glorious to be included in such a tight-knit group.

Furthermore, walking without a cane takes increasingly less effort, and he's nearly back to normal where the use of his left arm is concerned. Henry is also making progress; the cough is gone as his lungs have improved tremendously, and he is currently working on unfolding and even spreading his wing, which is slow-going but more than Danny ever expected.

 

They have spent one more Saturday with Grace at Steve's house, which was nice. Steve picked up where Kono left off and went surfing with Grace, and Danny took pictures of the two of them on Steve's board, riding the bigger waves together. Henry used the time to exercise his wing; at the sanitarium, he is receiving hydrotherapy, and when he told Indiska about his visits at a friend's private beach, she advised him to do his prescribed exercises in the water while there.

Aquila stood and watched his friend with his head tilted curiously, but kept silent; it was obvious that Henry was concentrating on what he was doing.

Danny was watching him as well, his heart swelling with love for his brave dragon.

Once Henry was done, he lay down in the shallows with Aquila to rest. Grace, who was making rapid progress on her own surfboard (which was one of Steve's old ones), shouted: “Look at me, Puppy!”, waved, promptly lost her balance and fell in. She came up giggling though.

“It looked good, Sweetheart,” Henry called over to her.

Grinning, Grace got back on her board and paddled over to where Steve was sitting on his, waiting for her. He was amazingly considerate around them, Danny once more had to admit, not at all like his 'jump first, think later'- persona at work. Danny trusted him with Grace, convinced that he'd keep her safe at all costs, and he was grateful for what he was doing for them- at least like this, Danny had something to offer to his daughter.

 

September

“Why do you never come into the water with me when we're at Aquila's beach?” Henry asks Danny one evening.

Danny, who was reading to him, now looks up at him in surprise: “Did you want me to?”

“Well, you do swim in the lake with me, but you never join us in the ocean even though the water is really nice.”

Danny sighs, closing the book: “I don't like the ocean,” he says softly.

“Why? Because of the sharks?”

“No, not because of the sharks. Well, not that I like them, but... it's because of something that happened to me a long time ago.” It's still painful to talk about his friend who drowned, but he tells Henry about Billy nevertheless.

Once he's finished, Henry is silent, then he cranes his neck to nuzzle at Danny: “I'm very sorry, Danno,” he says in a low voice. “That must have been horrible.”

“It was.”

“I understand now why you don't like the ocean.” He hesitates: “Would you prefer if I kept out of the water as well?”

After a moment of comprehension, Danny shakes his head: “No, no, of course not, Puppy,” he says, feeling near to bursting with love for his dragon. “It's my personal problem and it's probably irrational, so it shouldn't keep you from enjoying yourself.” He strokes Henry's warm hide.

“Oh. Oh well, if you're truly alright with it...” Henry nuzzles him once more: “Thank you for telling me.”

Danny presses a kiss on his muzzle: “Thank you for asking, Puppy. Want me to read some more?”

“Yes, please. I'd like to know what happened after the Battle of Trafalgar. I should think Napoleon's aerial forces must have been diminished greatly.”

“Wait and see,” Danny sighs; Henry's interest in history is insatiable.

 

In fact, he talks to Aquila about it on the following morning, and they engage in a lively discussion about the British Aerial Forces' victory over the French in 1805 when the famous Temeraire, the first Celestial dragon ever to have served in the Aerial Corps, turned the tide by using his roar, the so-called 'divine wind', against the invaders, upon which the remaining French soldiers finally retreated.

“What a day,” Aquila says with bright eyes. “I'd so have liked to be there!”

Henry nods: “Can you imagine, flying out to battle in full rig and with a whole crew aboard?”

Aquila tilts his head: “Well, I did have a formation and a crew of eight when we were stationed on the Enterprise and in Afghanistan, but I hardly registered their weight. It must be different when it's 30. And their gear and their weapons were much heavier back then.”

“Yes. And a Regal Copper sometimes carried up to 500 men during troup transports, can you imagine that?”

“No. I think flying must have been very uncomfortable like that.”

“Indeed.”

 

Danny, who's been listening to their conversation, shakes his head; so much for being glad about not having to do active field duty.

Steve comes out of his office, phone in hand: “Guys, Malia's gone into labour, so Chin won't be coming in today.”

Kono nods: “He just texted me. I don't know who's more nervous, he or Malia.”

Danny, who's only ever seen Chin in a state of Zen-like calm, grins: “Oh, that'll be him. When Gracie was born, I couldn't even remember my own name, and Rachel kept telling me to keep it together.”

Kono snickers: “Shouldn't it have been the other way round?”

“Well, later on, she nearly broke my finger, so I think we got even.”

Steve smiles inwardly; Danny doesn't usually talk about personal things at work; that he feels confident enough to do so by now is another step along the way, in his opinion.

“Anyway,” Steve then says, “since we're one man down, I was thinking maybe you could fill in for him in case we get called out?”

Danny does a double take: “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“I-”

“You're doing much better physically, aren't you?”

“Yeah, but I didn't have my weapons license renewed-”

“Immunity and means. I'm hereby renewing it.”

“You haven't even seen me take aim, ever! And I don't have my carabiners-”

“Got a few spare ones here.”

“And Henry won't like it.”

“I'll talk to him.”

“No, you won't, because I won't do it.”

“Danno, please. If we get called out, I need a second man at my back while Kono is covering our six.”

Danny knows this, of course. Knows how vulnerable a dragon is to attack from behind or above, but still. He can't do it to Henry, and it's been so long since he's been up in the air... He sags a little, torn between wanting to say yes for his team and feeling like he'd be betraying his dragon.

“I'll ask Henry,” he eventually says.

“Thank you.” Steve actually looks relieved.

 

Henry listens to Danny attentively: “Chin's wife is having her egg?” he asks.

“It's not actually- well, yes, she is. And Chin needs to be with her, therefore Steve asked me to fill in for him in case they get called out. But I won't do it if you don't like it.”

“You'd go flying with Aquila?”

“Yes.”

“And Steve?”

“Yes.”

Henry looks over to his friend; he and Danny are standing in the far corner of the courtyard for some privacy.

“Aquila,” he now calls softly.

The bigger dragon lifts his head: “Yes?”

“If my Danno comes flying with you today, will you please look after him?”

Aquila sits up straight at that: “Of course I will, don't you worry.”

“Thank you.” Henry turns his attention back to his human: “Please be very careful, Danno.”

For a moment, Danny can't even speak, so he just nods, his hands on Henry's muzzle.

“Maybe we don't even have to go,” he says quietly once he trusts his voice again. “But if we do- will you be alright?”

“Of course I will,” Henry replies softly. “But I'll worry about you, there's nothing I can do about that.”

“Puppy,” Danny murmurs, leaning his cheek against the warm hide for a moment. “I'll be careful, promise.”

 

They do get called out shortly after noon.

To save his crew the climb, Aquila lifts them on his back one after another; Kono straps herself in between his shoulders, Steve at the base of his neck and Danny behind him. It's much higher than he's used to, but Henry can still reach him to nuzzle him goodbye before stepping back and watching as Aquila launches himself skywards. Danny's heart soars as the massive dragon leaps into the air and the ground falls away beneath them, Henry a golden glint which soon is out of sight. It's fast and marvelous and he's missed this more than he knew. Hell, he even missed the darn tac vest and the wind which makes his eyes stream.

Pain, raw and bright, briefly constricts his heart and he does feel like a traitor for a moment, but then he suppresses it with all his might, concentrates on the task at hand.

 

In the courtyard, Henry curls in on himself. It's difficult to be left alone like this, knowing that his captain is out there with another dragon and possibly encountering dangerous situations. He's not jealous of Aquila, but it stings a little nevertheless.

He's just closed his eyes when a voice addresses him: “Hey there, Kalekona.” The last word means 'dragon' in Hawaiian; Indiska told him so.

He peers at the newcomer: it's a very large man with a kind face. “Who are you?” he asks.

“I'm Kamekona, a friend of Steve's.”

“Nice to meet you. Kamekona, that sounds like 'kalekona'.”

“You know it, brah.”

“What does it mean, then?”

“I don't know. But it's probably something big.”

“Hm. My name is Henry. That means 'Danno's dragon'.”

Kamekona frowns: “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. Anyway, Steve called me and asked me to bring you some lunch.”

“Oh, how kind of him.” With interest, Henry eyes the large bags Kamekona is carrying. “What did you bring?”

“Shrimp stew, shrimp on rice and grilled shrimp.”

“I don't think I've ever had something called _shrimp_.”

“Brah, that's impossible! We've gotta remedy that.” With that, Kamekona begins to unpack his bags.

 

The surviving one of the bad guys wishes he had taken up a nice and quiet desk job like his mom always wanted him to do instead of yearning for riches the moment that he feels himself lifted up by a large claw; seconds later, a huge eye is peering at him. He makes an undignified squawking sound, and then the dragon speaks to him, its voice deep: “You better not pee on me, little man.”

A voice calls up: “I gotta talk to him, Munchkin.”

 _Munch_ \- what kind of fresh insanity is this?

“Too bad.” The claw is being lowered to the ground.

“I'm Steve McGarrett,” the man who seems to be the dragon's captain says conversationally. “And you're going to tell me where the bomb is.”

“Or what?” the guy manages.

“Or I'll let my dragon eat you.”

“You can't! That's against the law!”

“Is it? Kono, do you know anything about that?”

The hot chick who's been taking out his partners with her rifle now steps up to McGarrett: “Doesn't ring a bell, boss.”

“Aquila, you hungry?”

“A little.”

“Care for a snack? Set of legs, maybe?”

“I could eat, yes.”

The guy gasps: “What kind of cops are you?”

McGarrett grins, and there's something feral about him for a moment: “The new kind.”

 

“You can't do that!” Danny rants on the flight back, “you just can't treat people like that, even if they're the bad guys! They do have rights, and-”

“We needed to get to that bomb, Danny!”

“I know we did, _Steven_ , but still- you can't just threaten someone like that!”

“We got results, didn't we, _Daniel_.”

“Yes, and maybe a lawsuit on top of it!”

“Nah, he won't sue.”

“How're you so sure?”

“'Cause I told him that he owed my dragon a meal, and not to forget it.”

“You- what- I don't even-”

“Calm down, Danno. If he knew anything about dragons, he'd have known that they don't like human flesh.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yes!”

“Try again, then.”

 

They argue all the way back to Iolani Palace and only fall silent once Aquila lands in the courtyard where they find Henry in the company of a stranger. Well, to Danny he is, the others greet him cheerfully. He's sitting on a bench and now gets up to shake hands: “So you're the haole who denied his poor dragon the utter delight that is shrimp.”

“Excuse me, denied? I didn't deny him anything,” Danny says, walking over to Henry, who noses at him anxiously: “Are you alright, Danno?”

“Yes, Puppy, everything went well.”

Henry nuzzles him, then he motions towards Kamekona: “Kamekona brought me some lunch. It was very delicious.”

“Shrimp, huh?”

“It's on my list of favourites from now on.”

“Oh, the list which is so long already that you can't even remember everything that's on it?”

“I could, too,” Henry says with dignity.

With a weary smile, Danny leans against him for a moment, glad to be back. It was amazing to be flying again, and he can still feel the adrenaline pumping through him; working, being a police officer again, he's missed it so much and it felt so right. It doesn't matter that he can also feel his knee now, and that he's rather tired; he's just not used to this anymore.

 

To Be Continued

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote you recognized is of course borrowed from the pilot. The other, indirect quote you may have recognized is a little bow to one of my all-time favourite shows, 'Sherlock'...


	5. Part 5

 

 

Since Chin and Malia welcome a little son, Chin takes ten days leave, meaning Danny's substituting for him for a while longer, and his first active participation in an operation is soon followed by a few more.

Danny is aware that it is putting quite a strain on his body, that hanging from a carabiner with only one leg hooked around the straps which are attached to the dragon's harness for exactly such purposes while shooting at a fleeing suspect is admittedly not very conducive to his still tender muscles and ligaments; he's earning himself quite a scolding from his otherwise always cheerful physical therapist, and one some days he needs to use the cane again in the evening. But the thrill of feeling like a proper cop once more is outweighing everything else.

And Henry seems okay with the whole matter; he's quiet, but not downtrodden, and Steve has ordered him some voice-controlled equipment so that he can listen to audiobooks while he's alone. Danny doesn't even ask how they can afford it, but apparently, the governor personally controls the task force's expenses, so it seems legitimate.

At the end of the ten days, Steve asks Danny into his office.

“I haven't given you your badge yet,” he says, holding it out to Danny. “But you've more than earned it, Danno.”

Touched, Danny gladly deflects the attention from the fact that his eyes are moist at that: “That a thing now, you calling me Danno?”

“I like it.”

“It's what my daughter and my dragon are calling me. Innocent, delightful creatures.”

“Aw, you don't find me delightful?”

“I find you an environmental hazard, that's what I find you. But thanks.” He turns the badge over in his hands.

Steve crosses his arms in front of his chest, an amused expression on his face: “Okay, well... Your twisted view of my person aside- you're an excellent addition to the team. You've got a knack for talking to people in rendition, you're a good partner up in the air and you can hold your own under duress. I was impressed by your skills.”

Danny can't help but blush; he's actually glad he hasn't lost those.

Steve continues: “But it's obviously a little too much yet.” He glances at Danny's knee. “So you're back at the office or in the interrogation room until you're fit for field duty, okay?”

Danny nods, pursing his lips; he's expected this of course, but it's still a little disappointing. “Thank you,” he says again in a low voice. “We appreciate what you're doing for us.”

Steve smiles: “You're welcome. Barbecue on Saturday, by the way?”

“I'd have to check with Rachel. Gracie is going to come over.”

Steve studies him: “Why don't you bring her and stay the night, all of you? I've got enough room, and that way, you could spend more time with her.”

Danny takes a deep breath, momentarily overwhelmed both by Steve's generosity and the prospect of having Grace for longer than just a day: “That'd be great, yes. I'll talk to Rachel and get back to you.”

 

Henry eyes Danny's new badge with barely concealed envy: “Oooh, it's so shiny!”

“Magpie,” Danny grumbles good-naturedly.

 

Since Rachel agrees, Henry, Danny and Grace do spend the night at Steve's. Grace is bouncing with excitement as she arrives, and she insists on sleeping in the same room as her dad. He doesn't mind, on the contrary; he's so happy he lies awake till the early hours, listening to his baby girl's quiet breathing. It's easier to admit to himself just how much he is missing this, all of it, when she's with him; at the sanitarium, he tries not to think about it too much. Therefore it was difficult to keep his composure earlier when he tucked her in and she snuggled against him with such casual ease as if they'd never stopped doing this. He had to take a few deep breaths until he was ready to read to her. And now she's lying next to him and he wishes he hadn't had to give her up, could read to her and watch her fall asleep every night.

On the following morning, Grace wakes up before him; she plays with her stuffed dog for a while, but then she gets bored. Danno is still fast asleep, and he looks very tired somehow. Back in New Jersey she used to wake him by tickling him, but she isn't sure whether that's such a good idea now; his limp was more pronounced on the previous day, and he was favouring his right side again. So maybe no tickling.

She loved that he read to her before she fell asleep; she likes his voice better than Stan's, and Mommy never gets the voices right. But when Danno reads to her, she can see all the characters come alive in her mind, even the tricky ones like Eeyore. She missed it just as she misses him when he's not with her.

Sighing, she very cautiously inches closer and crawls onto his chest, just as she used to do at home, when she was little and they were still a proper family. She puts her ear over his heart and listens to the steady rhythm, and when Danny puts his arms around her in his sleep, not really waking up, and mumbles something about monkeys, she closes her eyes again and feels at home right here, in a house neither of them even lives in.

 

Henry's Hatching Day on October the 20th is a much quieter affair than Aquila's, partly due to the circumstances and partly because it is a week day; the team surprises him with a large cake however, and Danny gives him the entire Harry Potter series and has ordered him a shrimp special for his lunch, all of which the dragon is very happy about.

 

 

November

Shortly after Halloween, Steve comes home and finds that someone's broken in. He calls HPD to send over someone from CSU, but after a cursory search he knows that there's only one thing missing and that whoever stole it didn't leave any prints or other evidence: the toolbox. They haven't gotten anywhere in the matter so far; concerning the initial investigation, they've hit nothing but dead ends. And now this.

He calls Danny on his cell phone as he stands on the lanai and watches CSU work, telling him what has transpired.

“Who knew about that thing?” Danny asks.

“You, Kono, Chin and me.”

“Huh. That you're aware of.”

Steve briefly pinches the bridge of his nose with two fingers: “You're right. The things in there are old, there may be other people involved.” He wishes, for the hundredth time, that his dad had talked to him about the matter instead of maintaining the illusion that he was having to keep his son safe.

“Steve,” Danny says into the ensuing silence. “You okay?”

_No_ , Steve wants to say. _I hate this and I hate how my dad left me in the dark_. But that wouldn't change anything, so he just exhales somewhat audibly: “Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.”

“You're not.” Danny says matter-of-factly.

“No,” Steve admits. “I'm not.”

“Want me to come over?”

At that, Steve feels something warm engulf him for a moment, a mixture of gratefulness and fondness; they've had a long day already and Danny's probably not even back at the sanitarium yet; he thinks he can hear the low rumble of the transport's motor in the background.

“Thank you,” he therefore says. “I appreciate it, Danno, but there's no need. CSU is still here and I'll be busy for a while.”

“Okay. Call me again if you need anything.”

Which Steve promises. When he hangs up, he's still angry, but he feels calmer now that he's talked to Danny, however brief it was.

CSU comes up empty, as expected, and since there are no leads, Steve has no choice than to let the matter go for the time being.

Danny is keeping an eye out for all the things which were in the toolbox whenever he's working at the tech table and there's a lull, and Steve is utterly grateful that he took those photos his friend suggested. That way, he hasn't lost the evidence entirely.

 

On the following morning, Danny comes into Steve's office with a large mug of coffee: “Already put some butter into it,” he says without preamble. For some reason, Steve is so touched that he doesn't know what to reply, apart from a strangled “Thank you”.

Danny, who has seen the blue hollows underneath Steve's eyes when he came in, testimony of a sleepless night, gives him a serious smile: “Energy boost,” he says and leaves again.

It doesn't occur to Steve until much later that day that they don't have any butter in the small fridge at HQ, and that Danny therefore must have brought it especially for him.

 

Before they know it, it's Thanksgiving, and it's a given that the team spends it together. Chin and Malia have invited them all, Max and the dragons included. It's the first time Max and the dragons meet baby Pekelo. Chin has brought him to Iolani Palace a few times, therefore Steve and Danny have already seen him, but they're amazed by how much he's grown in the meantime.

Aquila and Henry keep their distance to the little one in order not to spook him, but watch with interest as he's being passed around.

“Do you think Steve will ever have an egg with someone?” Henry asks, his eyes on Danny who's holding the baby with apparent ease.

“I don't know,” Aquila mutters. “I've never seen him kissing anyone. People usually kiss a lot before they have their eggs.”

“How do you know that?”

“Kono told me when I asked her about Chin and Malia. She also said that people often walk around with a slightly dopey expression because they're so happy when they're in love.”

Henry frowns: “I don't know what that looks like.”

“Me neither. But I'm sure I'd know it if Steve looked 'dopey'.”

“Hm... Look at that little thing. It's so strange that humans can't walk or talk when they hatch.”

“Very.”

 

Later that evening, Steve hands Danny an envelope.

“What is this?” Danny asks.

“Open it,” Steve replies airily.

It's a Christmas card. “ _Mele Kalikimaka_? Isn't that a bit early?”

Steve rolls his eyes: “Go on, read it!”

The card says: “Dear Danno, I'd like to invite you and Henry over for the holidays. If you have Gracie, she's welcome to stay as well. I promise we'll even get a proper tree. Steve xxx”

Danny blinks a few times: “Steve- are you sure you don't mind? I feel like we've been imposing on your time a lot lately-”

“Who says anything about imposing?” Steve says, his expression serious and something else- he's tense bordering on anxious all of a sudden, and Danny understands. For Steve, Christmas is otherwise going to be a lonely affair as well, after all.

“I'm enjoying your visits, Danno,” he now adds. “It's good to see the old house filled with life again.”

The corners of Danny's mouth quirk up at that, and he looks at the card again: “Well, if you really think so... Thanks, Babe. I'd love to, and knowing Henry, he'll be thrilled.”

_Babe_. Steve has noticed that Danny, now that he feels a little more like himself again, has begun to call everyone Babe now and then, even Kamekona, but still- for a moment, his stomach is doing funny things, and not for the first time.

He's gotten to know Danny a lot better in the meantime, especially while he was filling in for Chin, and Steve only now fully realizes just how miserable his friend must have been feeling when he first arrived on the island, how weighed down by sorrow and worries he was. The quiet, subdued person he met at the harbour that day is at times difficult to reconcile with the sometimes downright boisterous man he has been working with these past weeks: that man is a different Danny, an outspoken one, a Danny who doesn't hesitate to call Steve out on it when he thinks he's being too reckless. Who stands on his opinions and who's insisting on proper procedure.

They bicker and argue quite a lot, and Steve found himself looking forward to it as time passed. Just as he was looking forward to seeing Danny every morning.

“Good,” he now mutters. “It's a done deal, then.”

 

During the following days, Danny keeps pondering his friend. Concerning himself, Steve's biggest weakness seems evident in all the touching which he doesn't even seem aware of most of the time; it's as mundane as a hand on his shoulder or sometimes slightly more pronounced like a brief, one-armed hug, as if having to make sure that his friend's really there; it speaks of someone who was very lonely for a long time, someone who doesn't trust people to not suddenly disappear again. Who takes comfort in the closeness of someone they trust.

Oddly enough, Danny can relate to it, especially on the days on which they are high strung because of a difficult case; sometimes, words just don't suffice to convey certain emotions. So Danny's begun to touch Steve as well, as it seems to reassure him. Not that it's unpleasant, on the contrary. It's intriguing, to say the least, not only because it shows how much at ease they are with one another: Steve's undeniably very attractive, after all. Touching him is something he could get used to.

Danny blinks at the notion; it's not the first time that his thoughts have strayed there, and it's confusing but not entirely unwelcome. Or rather, it'd not be entirely unwelcome if he knew about Steve's preferences. So far, he hasn't seen him dating anyone, and he can't well walk up to Aquila or their colleagues and ask about it. And he still isn't sure if he's indeed getting mixed signals at times or if he's just reading the wrong things into Steve's behaviour.

Apart from that, he really doesn't want to lose the bond they already have, the friendship which seems to be getting stronger from day to day, even though Steve sometimes drives him crazy.

 

 

December

Just as Steve anticipated, December isn't easy for Danny; it's too different from home, too warm and too un-Christmas-y altogether in his opinion, therefore he's grateful to have something to look forward to. Steve can relate to that all too well: he's been there himself, after all, and this is only the second Christmas without his dad. Not that they've seen each other much during the last years, but still- he was around, they talked on the phone. This time of year, he finds that he's missing his father more than usual.

On a whim, he calls his aunt Deb, his father's sister, two weeks before Christmas.

“How are you doing, my darling?” she asks him once he's identified himself, and the warmth in her voice is soothing his soul.

“Same old,” he replies and tells her a bit about Aquila, work and Five-0's latest addition. “So by now, they are both doing much better, and Aquila and Henry have become best friends. In fact, they're spending Christmas with us.”

“I'm glad to hear that you won't be alone,” Deb says quietly. “I know that Mary won't be there because she's in New York, right?”

Steve sighs: “You know more than I do,” he admits. “I haven't talked to her in months.”

Deb's tone is sympathetic: “She'll come round, eventually. She's always taken the hard way rather than the easy one.”

Steve remains silent at that; Mary wasn't at their dad's funeral, which isn't exactly proving his aunt's point. But if he knows his sister at all, Deb is right in general. He hopes she is. He doesn't miss Mary per se, knows her too little for that after not having seen her in so long, but he misses the concept of having a sister.

“And what have you and Danny planned for Christmas?” Deb now asks, apparently sensing that it's best to change the subject.

“Nothing much,” Steve says. “His daughter is probably coming over on Christmas day, I guess we'll spend some time in the water if she does. I've been teaching her to surf. Oh, and Aquila's become obsessed with fishing recently, and he's got Henry hooked as well.”

“Sounds like you're going to have a good time, darling.”

“Yeah,” Steve hears himself say, “but that may not be the only reason why I've invited them.”

“Oh?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose: it's difficult to talk about this, but at the same time, it's also very liberating. And Deb's always been a good listener.

“Well, I don't want them to be sad at Christmas, of course, but... recently, I've been missing him whenever he wasn't around.”

“Yes, so? From what you've told me, you two have become rather close,” Deb prompts him gently.

“We have. I really liked him from the beginning, but... it may be more than friendship on my side.”

For a moment, Deb is silent, then she sighs: “You make it sound so sad.”

“He's a co-worker.”

“And you trust him.”

Steve smiles painedly: “Yes, of course. But I don't even know... he was married to a woman, after all. He's got a daughter.”

“That doesn't have to mean he's not interested.”

“I know.” But he isn't even sure himself after all, maybe he's just being melancholy because of the impending holidays.

“Don't pressure yourself, honey,” Deb says with so much warmth in her voice that he wishes she was here. “Just keep being yourself, and listen to your heart. If it's meant to be, it will be.” Put like that, it seems simple enough.

Steve briefly closes his eyes, swallowing, before he can answer: “Thank you,” he replies softly. “You always know just what to say.”

“Wisdom of the elderly, Sweetheart,” Deb says, amused. “You'll get there, one day.”

 

Steve considers their coversation once's they've ended the call (with actual kissing noises on both ends, which he'll never, as long he'll live, admit to anyone, but which have become a ritual at one point and he'd miss it if they stopped doing it).

He was little disconcerted upon discovering that he wasn't only looking forward to Danny's company every day but actually found himself wanting for his presence whenever he wasn't there or came in a little later due to Henry's and his PT schedule.

Worse even, Steve's stomach has begun to do this annoying fluttery thing a lot when Danny is around. Steve is determined not to act on it, of course, because he values Danny as a friend and a colleague, and apart from that, he's fairly certain that he's straight; maybe it'll pass anyway.

 

He doesn't have too much time to dwell on the matter however, since Danny's finally found a lead on the toolbox; he's been reviewing whichever CCTV footage from the vicinity of Steve's house he could find, and finally managed to single out a black SUV; the license plates were fakes, but Danny, Steve learns, is like a terrier with a bone once he's on to something; he takes several screenshots of the car and has the lab analyze them, which actually turns out a partial facial shot; due to Five-0's superb equipment, they do find a match in the database.

The bad news are that the guy belongs to the Yakuza, which is opening a whole new can of worms, but for Steve it's Christmas come early nevertheless; it's something to go on, after all. They don't yet, however, because it looks as if the governor is involved, and they agree on treading carefully, no matter how impatient Steve is.

Their workload doesn't allow for much sideways investigating anyway, and then Victor Hesse resurfaces, and Five-0 commits a crime in order to save one of their own. Not even Danny complains about it, because neither of them has ten million dollars, and if that's the only way to keep Chin alive, then so be it and hang the consequences.

They are not a little baffled when nobody notices that there's money missing from the forfeiture locker, and it's with a bit of ill ease that they gather together for some Christmas Eve eve drinks, but there's nothing to be done about it for the time being, after all.

 

Rachel agrees to let Grace spend Christmas Day and the morning of the 26th with her father, which Danny highly appreciates. They are going to fly to the mainland on the same evening, visiting Stan's family, but he tries not to be jealous. He's looking forward to the time with Grace instead, and he's carefully chosen her presents, which she'll find under the tree Steve promised, a real fir he's got from God knows where.

Steve's made quite an effort anyway, not only with the decorations and the general preparations but also for Henry; he's had a second awning strung up in the garden right next to Aquila's pavilion: that way Henry can lie in the shade close to his friend, and it'll keep him dry in case it rains.

“You're a good friend,” Danny says quietly when he sees it, and Steve feels a little guilty at that because his feelings for Danny are definitely more than just friendly: all remaining insecurities about that have flown out of the window in the meantime.

He can't help it though, and he can't stop himself from touching Danny from time to time, in what he hopes counts as a platonic manner: a pat on the shoulder here, a hand on his arm there. He feels physcially drawn to Danny in a way that is new to him: he just wants to be near him. The more time he spends with the guy, the more he fascinates him on a multitude of levels.

Danny is honest and loyal, brave and tougher than he looks. And he's kind, and lovely, and caring, and altogether wonderful. Someone he'd also like to get to know on an intimiate level. It's driving Steve mad sometimes, not being able to just ask Danny out.

And Steve's probably being too careless at times when he just can't stop looking at Danny because he also adores the way he moves and how he talks with his hands. Apart from simply being delectable because yes, Steve has eyes, and he doesn't only like Danny's handsome face.

Whenever he's come this far in his mind, Steve mentally smacks himself; it doesn't do to lust after your unsuspecting friend and partner, after all. The trouble is that he can't just stay away as he would have done if this was someone else, and doesn't want to; during the roughly ten months of their acquaintance, Danny and he have become close rather quickly, and life without him in it is inconceivable by now. So Steve decides to suffer in silence; it's going to be difficult, but it's a small price to pay if it means he won't lose the one person he feels so inexplicably but irrevocably connected with.

 

Clara Williams finds her husband in the living room, where he is busy sorting through a box of fairy lights.

“I just talked to Danny,” she says with a slightly wistful smile; she's missing her son more than she usually lets on.

Eddie pauses: “How's he doing?”

“Okay. Better than the last time we spoke. He sounded less tired.” She's relieved about this because she knows that Christmas was always going to be a difficult time for him. “He's going to spend Christmas with Steve, and Gracie's going to be there as well.”

Eddie subdues a smile, amused by the fact that she's already on first name basis with Danny's new friend and boss even though they never met. But he's also relieved that his boy won't be alone on Christmas. Well, there's Henry of course, and Danny would never complain, but he is a family man, always has been. Therefore, Eddie is glad that Danny has found a friend, and one with a dragon at that; it'll do Henry good as well.

“It's good that he'll have Gracie around too, she always cheers him up,” he says. “And how's our Puppy doing?”

Clara smiles: “He's making progress, though it's slow-going. His dragon friend has taught him how to fish, apparently, and he likes Hawaii.”

Eddie shakes his head: “He's lucky that he ended up with Danny, if you ask me. Not a lot of people would have done this for their beast.”

Nodding, Clara looks at the photo of Danny and Henry they've put up on the mantle; it's one of their many family pictures and was taken before the accident; from time to time, Clara regards it and wishes things had turned out differently. But she's glad that they've at least made some friends; she didn't think she could bear it if they were lonely.

 

On Christmas Eve, they eat some stew Steve made; it's delicious and Danny is surprised that his friend is such a good cook. Later, once the dragons are asleep, they retreat to the couch with some homemade eggnog and the cookies Danny's mom sent.

“Does your mom always bake cookies for Christmas?” Steve asks, his voice unusually small.

“Yeah. She loves baking. Knows all the recipes by heart.”

“My mom didn't. We did bake some, I can remember that, but she preferred to cook.”

“Hm. Christmas is all about the food, isn't it?”

Steve takes a breath: “It should be,” he says quietly.

Danny, sensing that his friend is veering into melancholy, nudges him: “Ready for the movie, Babe?”

They agreed on watching _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ , which Steve's never seen before.

“It's not really a Christmas movie, is it?” he asks as he turns on the DVD player.

“Shut up, you ignoramus,” Danny mutters. “It's Audrey Hepburn and the men are still wearing hats, what more do you need?”

Steve is still pondering this statement later, but he's got to admit that Audrey is adorable.

“Whose recipe was this again?” Danny asks during a break, holding up his glass: “It's got more nog in it than I'm used to.”

“It's my aunt Deb's and I may have been a little too generous with the nog.” Steve grins goofily after his third refill.

Danny shifts in his corner of the couch: “Sorry. Do you mind if I put my leg up?”

“'Course not.” So Danny puts his leg on the couch, his foot against Steve's thigh, and that's doing all kinds of things to his poor, eggnog-soaked head. Which is why it's absolutely not his fault when his hand puts itself on Danny's foot and just stays there. Steve stares at it and snorts, but Danny doesn't seem to mind.

 

After the end credits, Steve turns the TV off; they're both pleasantly buzzed by now.

“Think Santa's already in the vicinity?”

Danny, who's put the presents he brought under the tree earlier, shakes his head: “Dunno, man- if _I_ were a reindeer, I'd keep well away from any dragons.”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve mutters. “That explains it.”

Danny turns to him: “Explains what?”

“The lack of presents. My chronically empty stocking.” Steve waves it off, though his other hand is still on Danny's foot.

“Really?”

“Hm. Well, my dad sent a parcel with mainly candy. My aunt Deb occasionally sent me presents. But other than that... nah.”

Danny now digs his toes into Steve's leg: “Sorry to hear that, Buddy.”

“Yeah well, I've gotten used to it.”

“It's not right,” Danny mutters, putting his other leg up as well. “Christmas shouldn't be like that.”

Steve shrugs: “What can I do?”

“Nothing.” Danny yawns. “Don't have to either, since you got me now.”

At that, Steve's stomach does a somersault, darn it. He pats Danny's feet: “Oh yeah?”

“Hm.” Danny closes his eyes. “I put a good word in for you. With Santa, I mean.”

Steve grins: “What did he say?”

“He said you're insane and so forth, but in the end he agreed to bring you something. I dunno. A hand grenade, maybe.”

Chuckling, Steve leans his head back and closes his eyes as well: “'s good,” he murmurs. “Can always use a hand grenade.”

 

Two hours later, Steve wakes up with a crick in his neck and the first susurration of a headache; it's not quite a hangover, but noticeable nevertheless. He sits up with a groan before he realizes that he and Danny fell asleep on the couch. Danny has turned onto his good side and has wrapped his arms around himself, and Steve is already reaching for a blanket, but then he reconsiders and puts one hand on Danny's arm: “Danno.”

He doesn't get a reaction at first, but then Danny stirs, blinking at Steve blearily: “'s up?”

“We fell asleep.”

“'s okay, I can jus' stay here.”

“Don't you wanna go upstairs and sleep in a proper bed? You'll probably thank me tomorrow.”

Danny sighs, but after a moment, he scrambles into an upright position: “Yeah, you're right.”

Squinting and barely awake, he stumbles up the stairs next to Steve, whose heart is beating like a drum because a sleepy and tousled Danny is looking softer round the edges, somehow. As though he was a perfect fit for Steve's arms. Who balls his hands into fists until his nails dig into his palms in order to keep himself from doing something stupid, like nosing Danny's hair because it looks so inviting and he'd really like to know its scent.

On the top of the stairs, Danny pats Steve's arm, stands on tiptoes and pecks him on the cheek: “Merry Christmas, Babe,” he mutters and turns towards the guest room, unaware how Steve stares after him in the semi-darkness as if he was struck by lightning.

 

To Be Continued

 

 


	6. Part 6

 

On the following morning, Danny wakes up with a rather heavy head; he isn't used to drinking anymore, not even in the slightest. Therefore he's grateful when he finds a thermos full of coffee in the kitchen; Steve, as usual, is out swimming. The dragons however are sitting on the lawn with an air of excitement, reminding Danny of overgrown dogs.

“Merry Christmas!” they say in unison.

Clutching his mug, Danny squints at them: “Merry Christmas, you two.”

“Did Santa come?” Henry asks excitedly.

Danny, who intends to keep his dragon from the truth as long as Gracie still believes in Santa, quickly glances at Aquila, who apparently never even got roped into the whole Father Christmas shebang; he promised to keep quiet however, and now he actually seems as excited as the Anglewing. Well, he usually gets a present from Steve, after all.

“He did, Puppy,” Danny therefore replies. “We'll wait until Steve's back from Australia, okay?”

Henry lies down, frowning: “What is Steve doing in Australia?”

“Nothing. I was joking.”

“Oh.”

“I wouldn't let him go to Australia on his own anyway,” Aquila now says.

Danny puts his coffee down, pads over to his dragon and climbs onto his foreleg, easing back against Henry's chest.

“Are you alright?” Henry asks, nosing at him.

“Yeah... just had a bit too much eggnog last night. It's okay, Puppy, no need to worry.”

He's nearly dozed off again when Steve comes out of the water: “Merry Christmas,” he says, his eyes lingering on Danny for a moment. “You alright?”

“He's got a hangover,” Aquila provides, at which Danny opens one eye and peers at him: “How do _you_ know about hangovers?”

“That's classified information,” Steve says quickly just as Aquila is about to answer.

His dragon hums: “Fine, I won't tell them. Henry, remind me not to talk about rum rounds.”

Henry cocks his head:“What are rum rounds?”

“I'm not supposed to talk about them. Or any other embarrassing stories, for that matter.”

Steve groans: “I'll go and take a shower. Aquila- please shut up, will you?”

“I really don't know why he's being like this,” he hears Aquila say as he walks into the house. “It's not as if I told you about the incident with the jello shots and the life-vest.”

Steve groans.

 

Danny has just closed his eyes again when the doorbell rings; it's Grace. Rachel apologizes for being early: “She just couldn't wait any longer,” she says.

“That's okay,” Danny says, smiling at his baby girl, who's hugged him fiercely and is now running outside to greet Henry and Aquila.

Rachel looks him over just as she always does these days: “It seems you're doing much better, Danny,” she then says, her expression softening at his slightly rumpled appearance. “I'm glad.”

“Yeah, well, I'm getting there,” Danny replies. “Though maybe not today. Eggnog.”

“Ah.” She smiles: “Merry Christmas.”

Danny looks at her; she's beautiful when she smiles, but he realizes that it doesn't hurt to think so anymore by now; he can actually smile back and mean it.

“Merry Christmas,” he replies softly.

 

When Steve comes downstairs, he finds Danny and Grace in the living room and both dragons crouched as close to the patio doors as possible, peering in.

“Merry Christmas, Uncle Steve,” Gracie jumps up and hugs him.

“Merry Christmas, Sweetie,” he replies. “Turns out you needn't have worried about Santa not finding my house, huh?”

She giggles, shaking her head: “I wrote your address on my wish list, just in case.”

“I see. A very clever move.”

“What shall we sing?” Gracie then asks Danny; it's their tradition to sing a few carols before opening their presents. “Can we sing 'Silent Night', Danno?”

So they start with 'Silent Night'.

“I can't see all the presents,” Aquila, once the last carol has ended, says in a stage-whisper to Henry. “I hope Santa didn't forget me!”

Steve rolls his eyes: “Did he ever forget you, you great big lummox? Gracie, can you find a present with Aquila's name on it?”

Grace immediately finds it:“Here! Do you want me to unwrap it for you?”

“Yes, please,” Aquila says, squinting at the package. Grace carries it out to the lanai; it's not very heavy.

“A ball!” Aquila cries, delighted, once the paper's come off. It's a large beach ball which is going to be 48 inches wide when inflated; Aquila has seen a picture of one and barely talked about anything else for two weeks straight.

“This is even better than the Encyclopedia Britannica I wanted,” he tells Henry.

“Puppy's next,” Gracie says and goes to get one of Henry's presents; it's a golden pocket watch. Henry all but croons as Grace hangs it over his talon for him to inspect: he's wanted one for some time now. It doesn't matter to him that he can't open it by himself or that he can't even read it; he loves gold and he likes the soft ticking sound. Indiska has one and he was in awe ever since he first saw -and heard- hers.

 

While Grace unwraps her own presents, Steve surreptitiously observes Danny; he's entirely focused on his daughter, watching her reaction to the things she finds; he is obviously a little tense at first, but once she's opened all the gifts, happy with every single one, he visibly relaxes. His face lights up even more as Grace crawls onto his lap and kisses him: “Can you thank Santa for me, Danno?”

He kisses her back, hugging her tightly: “I will, Monkey.”

Grace stays where she is for a while, leaning against her dad and playing with her delicate new silver bracelet which has a small charm pendant in the shape of a heart.

Steve now reaches for a flat, rectangular box and hands it to Danny: “This is for you, I believe.”

Danny looks at him in surprise: “You already gave me something.” He means the invitation, of course, but Steve shakes his head: “Everybody needs something to unwrap as well.” For some reason, he blushes at these words, even more so when Danny obviously tries to hide his amusement.

He finds two tickets for Bon Jovi at the Aloha Stadium in May. He looks up: “Steve- thank you. But these are really exp-”

Steve waves his concern aside but his expression is briefly bordering on anxious again: “Don't worry about it, Danno. It's Christmas, right?”

And Danny understands. He still thinks that his friend may have spent a little too much on the presents in general, but he seems to love it, and he looks content. Happy, even.

So Danny nods: “Right.”

Steve beams: “So who're you gonna take with you?”

“Oh,” Danny replies, pretending to be thinking about it. “Kamekona said he's a big fan, so...”

Grace looks up at him: “Danno, I think Uncle Steve wants you to take _him_ along!”

“You think? Nah, I bet he doesn't even know a single Bon Jovi song.”

Grace's head swivels round to Uncle Steve, who immediately clears his throat: “ _I'm a cowboy... on a steel_ _horse I ride_ -”

Danny raises his hands in surrender: “Okay, okay- I'll take you. Please stop singing.”

Grinning, Steve holds out his fist for Grace to bump.

 

Once they're done with the gifts, Grace goes to change into her bathing suit; Aquila and Henry have promised to take her swimming before breakfast. Which makes Danny a little melancholy, since it's the very opposite of New Jersey, where it's probably rather cold by now, just as it should be on Christmas in his opinion. But Grace doesn't seem to mind. Henry puts her on his shoulder and lets her jump, which she loves, and they all play with the new ball until Steve calls for Grace because breakfast is ready.

Once she leaves the water to get dressed, the dragons go fishing, then Henry begins with his daily exercises.

Gracie is just tucking into her second round of her father's Christmas pancakes when Aquila and Henry call over to them excitedly: “Come and look!” “ _Danno!_ Look!”

Danny immediately jumps up. As fast as he can make it, he walks towards the beach; Grace catches up and falls into step with him, Steve next to her.

Henry is standing in the shallow water, facing them. His eyes are closed as he concentrates, and then, slowly but evenly, he spreads his wings as far as they'll go; his hide glints golden as it reflects the sunlight.

Danny's hands wander to his mouth and he makes a small mewling sound as Henry opens his eyes, takes a deep breath and slowly, steadily, flaps his wings down and up again once, twice, before folding them back in.

Unthinkingly and almost blind with tears, Danny moves, running down to the water a little lopsidedly, splashing into the shallows despite being fully dressed and towards his dragon who stands stock-still and panting, but glowing with pride.

With a sob, Danny hugs the large head, and Henry brings up his wet foreleg around him, holding him gently.

“You did it, Puppy, you did it,” Danny mutters, crying so hard that his whole body is shaking, but laughing at the same time.

Aquila, Steve and Grace are watching them with amazement; Steve held Grace back when she wanted to run after her father, telling her to wait and give them a moment.

When she absolutely can't wait any longer, he lets her go, and Gracie splashes towards her family: “Puppy! I'm so happy for you!”

Danny lifts her onto his good hip and Henry nuzzles at them affectionately: “I secretly practised it every day,” he says proudly.

After a while, Aquila comes closer: “Congratulations, my dear,” he says, nosing at Henry fondly. “That was amazing!”

Henry just beams at him, radiating happiness.

Steve has meanwhile found some champagne which he opens with a lout pop; Danny and he each have a few sips, Gracie exactly one, the rest ends up being sprayed around as all of them begin to splash around in the water, laughing and shrieking; in the end they are out of breath and soaking wet, but it doesn't matter.

 

“Danno,” Henry says softly when they're back on the beach, nuzzling at Danny. “You went into the water for me.”

“I did,” Danny replies somewhat shakily, a faint smile ghosting over his face. “It appears that no rules apply when it comes to you, my dear.”

Grace is already upstairs in the shower by the time Danny and Steve have made it into the house; Danny stops Steve with a hand on his arm just as he turns towards the stairs. Quietly, he steps closer and wraps his arms around his friend, hugging him tightly, and Steve, after a moment of comprehension, returns the embrace.

“Thank you,” Danny mutters, but he doesn't let go so soon, and Steve just holds him as long as Danny needs it, amazed by the fact that apparently, he has plenty of things to give when not too long ago he was rather convinced of the opposite.

 

Tired out by all the excitement, Grace and Danny falls asleep in the hammock once they've changed into dry clothes, Henry by their side. Steve watches them for a while, unaware that he is smiling; it was his mother who put the thing up, and Mary and he loved swinging in it. He's replaced the old one in the meantime because it was getting rather threadbare, and now he's glad he did. Admittedly, he'd love to be in Gracie's place right now; he can still feel Danny's warmth, his smaller body against his own; it's forever his to remember. With a sigh, he turns away and heads towards the kitchen.

 

That evening, they watch a movie on the lanai with the dragons; Steve's got a beamer and a screen, since Aquila and he like to watch movies together from time to time.

Grace chooses 'The Neverending Story', which neither Danny nor Steve have seen since their childhood. She tears up when Atreyu loses Artax in the swamp and hides her face on Danny's shoulder, only re-emerging after Danny tells her that the horse didn't really die. Which she knew, of course, but she still needed to hear it once more.

The dragons are silent, following the story in awe until Falkor makes his appearance. From that moment on, they keep up a running commentary (“Why does he have fur? Do you think he's an Icelandic breed?” “I've never heard of 'luckdragons', Icelandic or otherwise.” “Why does he have teeth if doesn't eat meat?” “And where are his wings? How can he fly without wings?” “It rather looks like he's swimming if you ask me.”) until Steve tells them sternly that he'll stop the movie if they can't keep quiet. Danny and Grace, who are snuggled up against Henry's chest, can feel him grumble under his breath a few times, and Aquila lets out a few indignant huffs.

 

Saying goodbye to Grace takes a bit longer than usual on the following day; Danny waves at her until the car turns around the corner and out of sight, then he slowly trudges back towards the house. It was amazing to have his little girl with them for Christmas, and even though it's still not the same as it would have been in Jersey, he's glad they were able to be here, with Aquila and Steve. Who are just headed towards the water again.

“We're going to play with the ball,” Henry says, looking Danny over just like Rachel uses to do. “Are you alright, Danno?”

“Yes, Puppy, I am.” Danny gives him a smile; he's aware that Henry knows how sad it makes him whenever Grace leaves again, but that's how things are, after all. “Go have fun, okay?”

With one last look at him, Henry makes his way down to the beach as well.

Danny sits down and watches them, pondering the last few days. While it still didn't feel like a real Christmas to him, he's grateful for the effort Steve made; it could have been so much worse. And there's Henry's progress, of course, which has made up for so much.

Steve looks carefree as he's splashing about in the water now, and to a stranger, he'd always appear tough and not so easily shaken, but Danny knows him better by now. At times, Steve's admittedly still a bit of a mystery to him, though usually Danny can read him well. He's tough, yes, and there's that insane side of him which apparently makes him think he's invincible, but he's also kind and very caring and altogether much softer on the inside than he probably wants people to know, which is making him vulnerable.

These past days, Danny has watched him whenever his friend didn't notice, and there's a lingering sadness there as well; no surprise, considering. And Danny has seen the scars on Steve's skin. Aquila has some as well, scars which suggest a fight with another large dragon; whatever it is that the two have been doing during their time of service, he's glad that it's behind them. That they are part of each other's lives now. That there may be something between Steve and him which is of yet undefined and may never come to fruition because Steve is probably expecting nothing more than friendship from him; still, Danny can't quite quell the small but insistent feeling of hope which insists on making itself known whenever he's with the guy.

So if he went out on a limb on Christmas Eve and kissed his friend on the cheek when he said goodnight- he can always blame it on the eggnog. Hell, he should have put up some mistletoe.

 

The old year peters out almost unnoticed by Five-0 since they're working a case, have been on it for four days; it doesn't matter that other people are celebrating as long as there's a psychopath on the loose. They only catch him two days later and find themselves a little surprised that it's January already. On the following evening, they all meet at Steve's for a belated toast to the new year.

“Any resolutions?” Kono asks, looking around.

Everyone shakes their heads.

Danny takes a deep breath: “No resolutions,” he says quietly. “Only a few words of thanks, I guess.” He looks at each one of them: “It's amazing to be working with you guys, and I'm really, really grateful that you gave me a chance.” His gaze lingers on Steve for a moment longer: “And Henry. We've come so far this past year...” He smiles a little watery.

“Hear, hear,” Chin says, smiling in that quiet way of his, and raises his glass.

“We're lucky to have you, brah,” Kono adds, pulling Danny in for a hug.

Steve just watches them proudly, smiling at his ohana as he eventually raises his own glass once more: “Happy New Year!”

Danny looks at him and his goofy smile and suddenly feels his heart soar. At which he has to surreptitiously support himself on the balustrade for a moment, because this is not a mere crush and he feels like he's finally seeing the elephant which has been in the room for some time now with sobering clarity: it seems that he's outdone himself and actually fallen in love with the man.

 

 

January

One Monday morning, Danny and Henry don't show up at work. Steve tries Danny's cell phone, which goes straight to voice mail; it worries him, just as it worries him that he doesn't have any messages or missed calls from his friend.

He is just looking up the number of the sanitarium when his phone does ring; it indeed is someone from the institute, telling Steve that they are calling on behalf of Detective Williams, who has been taken ill and won't come in today.

“What do you mean, taken ill?” Steve asks, upset and concerned.

“I'm sorry, sir, I'm only relaying the message, I don't know any details.”

“Can you put me through to someone who does know the details, then?”

“I can try,” the young lady says, obviously wanting to be helpful. “If you'll just stay in the line-”

“You know what, that's okay,” Steve says. “I'll come over and see how he's doing myself.”

“Very well, sir.”

Steve all but runs outside, calling out to Chin that Danny's sick and he's going to see him. Aquila, who's been waiting for Henry just as impatiently, lifts off the ground even before Steve is properly strapped in.

“I'm sorry, Munchkin,” Steve tells him as they land outside the sanitarium's gates. “You'll have to wait here, but I'll come and report as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay,” Aquila says, head drooping, and resigns himself to the wait.

Steve walks fast and has soon reached Henry's pavilion; he can see the Anglewing, crouched down with his head close to Danny's rooms, his body tense. His head swings around as he senses someone approaching: “Steve!” he says, obviously relieved. “I'm so glad you came!”

Steve strokes his leg: “What's wrong, Puppy?”

“My Danno's not been feeling well all weekend. He was ill yesterday and went to bed, and he didn't get up at all today, only to go to the bathroom. I heard him throwing up a few times, but then he went back to bed. He told me he was sorry, though. I didn't know what to do, so I went to Alani to ask her to call you.”

“You did very well, my dear. I'll go check on him for you, okay?” Steve says, hoping to sound reassuring.

Henry noses at him: “Yes, please. Thank you.”

Danny's curled up on his side, white-faced and shaking as Steve comes in.

“Danno,” he says gently.

At that, Danny opens his eyes; they are bloodshot and glassy. “S'eve,” he mumbles, too depleted to even ask what he is doing here.

“Henry had someone call in sick for you, but they wouldn't tell me anything specific.”

Steve puts the back of his fingers on Danny's temple; the skin is overly warm, despite the cold chills which are racking his friend.

Danny coughs and just closes his eyes again; the fact that he is neither complaining nor caring about Steve seeing him like this apparently is alarming enough for the former SEAL to immediately make a few decisions: “I'll be right back,” he says.

Twenty minutes later, Danny is being examined by a doctor and Aquila is protectively curled up around Henry, who is still fretting. Steve pulled his immunity and means card for the sanitarium to make an exception, and seeing how nervous Henry is, he's glad it worked.

“Looks like the flu,” Doctor Palakiko tells Steve a short while later. “It is likely that Detective Williams' daughter has passed the infection on to him; I understand she was on the mainland after Christmas and has been sick recently.”

Steve nods; of course. Danny has told him that Grace was ill.

“So what do we do now?” Steve asks.

“It needs to be managed properly in order to avoid pneumonia,” the doctor replies. “Detective Williams needs absolute bed rest and plenty of fluids, since the fever's rather high. If it doesn't go down by tomorrow, I'd suggest an antipyretic.”

“Can I take him to my house? I'd be easier to look after him there, and I've got enough room for Henry as well.”

Doctor Palakiko considers this: “If he agrees, sure, why not.”

 

So Steve arranges for a dragon transport to take Henry to his house while he and Aquila take care of Danny. He only looked at Steve blearily and bemused for a moment when his friend suggested to come with him, but when Steve mentioned Henry, he agreed. Therefore Steve packed a few things for him, wrapped him into a blanket and helped him outside. Henry nosed at him anxiously and watched closely as Aquila very gently held Danny with one claw; it was the easiest solution to carry him like this.

Once Henry was on his way, Steve and his dragon took off as well.

Danny doesn't remember much later on; he is vaguely aware that Steve leads him upstairs once they've arrived at his house, one warm hand firmly under his arm; he is still freezing and can't stop shivering, therefore Steve covers him with an additional blanket once he's tucked him in and brings him a hot water bottle for his cold feet. Danny is beyond feeling embarrassed by now; after thanking Steve, he curls in on himself as far as his congested sinuses allow, desperate for some more warmth, and closes his burning eyes.

The next thing he knows is Steve putting a damp cloth on his forehead; he is engulfed by oppressive heat, therefore the sudden coldness is a tremendous relief. He's already pushed his blankets away, but Steve pulled them back up; he needs to sweat it out, after all.

Weakly, Danny bats at Steve's hands next because he's still too hot and he doesn't need the blankets, but Steve just takes Danny's hand and holds on to it, and Danny stills at that, closing his eyes again. His whole body is aching with his back being worst, and Steve's gentle but firm grip provides a welcome distraction.

 

He wakes up in the evening from his own coughing; it's already getting dark outside, and it takes him a few seconds until he knows where he is. He doesn't realize that he's being watched, but Aquila has been sitting upright just outside and keeping an eye on him through the window in order to appease Henry, who is too jittery to do so.

“Steve,” the large dragon now hollers. Steve, who's busy in the kitchen, immediately hurries upstairs.

Danny's fever is still high and he flinches when he feels a hand on his back, rubbing gentle circles while he tries to stop coughing. When the bout is finally over, Steve hands him a mug of lukewarm tea: “Here, drink this.”

Danny's feeling slightly queasy but does as he's told because his throat is sore and he is actually thirsty.

“How're you feeling, Danno?” Steve now asks.

“Fine,” Danny croaks, at which Steve's mouth quirks upwards: “Yeah, you look it, Babe.” He takes the mug back and puts it on the nightstand: “Let's get you into a dry shirt for the night, okay?”

Danny indicates a nod; he's soaked with sweat and the shirt he's wearing is clinging to his body rather uncomfortably, making him shiver again. Steve helps him out of it and into a fresh one, then Danny totters to the bathroom to pee. When he comes back, he's so shaky that he stops and supports himself on the wall until Steve is at his side to support him.

“S'rry,” Danny slurs as his friend tucks him in. “You playin' nurse.”

“Don't worry about it, Danno,” Steve replies, an almost tender edge to his voice. “Better than you having to do this alone.”

Danny closes his eyes again, faintly humming in agreement.

 

The next time he opens his eyes, it's in the middle of the night and they are streaming because he's coughing again, can't stop since his throat is on fire and no matter what he does, it just won't abate. There's a hand on his back and another one supporting his shoulder, not letting go until he finally, finally sags into the pillow, exhausted and aching all over.

“Danno,” a voice, Steve's voice says, concern audible in its tone, “Danno, can you look at me?”

Danny bites back a whimper because he can't, he's too tired and his body is hating him right now. The hand on his shoulder wanders to his face now, caressing his clammy skin: “Danno!” That sounds more urgent and somewhat anxious, so he does his best to pry his eyes open, looking at Steve blearily.

He looks worried and exhausted as well, and Danny feels bad for being the reason for this; Steve shouldn't ever look like this, so vulnerable, but he does: it's in the corners of his mouth and the tiredness in his eyes.

Now he looks confused; possibly, Danny has said all that out loud. He isn't sure, but it doesn't matter. Steve shouldn't look like this, period.

“Go to bed,” he therefore slurs. “S'eve.”

Steve shakes his head: “I'm fine.” His hand is still on Danny's face, stroking over his temple now: “But you should drink some more of the tea.” He reaches for the mug and helps Danny to sit up a little; the tea feels wonderful in his throat, and he sips slowly, grateful for the temporary relief. It's not the first time that he's this ill, and he's always had someone to take care of him; it's not very different now that it's Steve, he realizes somewhere in the back of his mind.

 

On the following morning, the fever has finally gone down a bit. The dragons are both sitting in front of the balcony, peering in. Steve, who still appears rather weary, helps Danny into another set of fresh clothes; Danny dimly recalls how Steve packed a bag for him back at the sanitarium, though he has no idea how exactly that went down; knowing Steve, he probably asked where to find everything first, at any rate.

“Henry's anxious to see you,” Steve now says in an undertone, pulling Danny out of his musings. “Do you feel up to go out on the balcony?”

Danny nods, though his legs feel like jelly. Steve supports him as they move outside; in an instant, Henry is sitting up on his haunches: “Danno,” he all but keens, nosing at him. “How are you doing?”

Danny's voice is feeble: “I'll be fine, Puppy,” he croaks, immediately coughing again. “You really don't need to worry about me.”

Henry droops his head: “But I do,” he says softly. “Can't you come down for a while?”

Steve already opens his mouth to protest, but then he stops himself: Henry's warm, and Danny can as well sleep in the shelter of his dragon's body.

“Why don't you?” he therefore says, motioning for Aquila to come closer. When Danny nods, the large dragon carefully lifts him over the balustrade and down onto the grass, where Henry immediately curls up around him, additionally spreading his good wing over the little nest he's providing. Danny, who's still feeling as though someone's put him through the ringer, snuggles up against the warm hide, closes his eyes and listens to the great heartbeat, one hand splayed out on the scales. He's asleep within minutes.

 

To Be Continued

 

 


	7. Part 7

 

Danny only truly feels like he's beginning to mend when the fever and the aches are finally abating and the coughing doesn't wake him every few hours.

He's severely weakened, much to his own chagrin, and Steve keeps _hovering_ \- there's no other word to describe it. It only now occurs to Danny that he must actually have taken a few days off in order to be with him, and for Aquila to be able to take care of Henry. Which is really sweet of him, making Danny's heart soar momentarily before he reigns himself in: he'll have to come to terms with the fact that he's entirely besotted with Steve, but he can't just go and read too much into all this, and really, Steve may simply be taking the meaning of ohana a little too far.

Much to Danny's chagrin, he isn't up to the very stern talk which he has in mind, but he asks Steve about it nevertheless.

Steve fidgets; Danny is propped up against a mound of pillows and still looks like death warmed over, which only seems to prove that Steve couldn't well have left him to his own devices: “You needed me,” he eventually says because those blue eyes, though half-lidded, are fixed on him.

“And I appreciate all this,” Danny mutters; just as the rest of him, his voice is still far from its usual strength. “But it's your job we're talking about. Kinda important, too.”

Steve regards him: “You're important to me as well, Danno.”

Danny can't but marvel at this. “Funny, huh?” he mutters. “A year ago, we hadn't even met.”

“Feels longer to me,” Steve replies.

“That's good,” Danny quips. “'Cause I'd be really embarrassed if a stranger had to play nurse to my sweaty, coughing self.” It's only partially meant as a joke, but Steve immediately shakes his head: “It wasn't a big deal.”

“It was a very big deal,” Danny objects. “Caring for someone like this.” He doesn't need to point out how intimate it is, how potentially humiliating, because Steve knows all these things. “And yet.”

“Nobody should be alone when they're this ill.” Steve doesn't look at Danny as he says it, but his friend understands where this is coming from, and once more, his heart aches for Steve, who's probably had to go through something like this alone after his life had derailed at the age of fifteen.

“Even though it's icky?” he asks quietly nevertheless, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

Steve's gaze roams over his face: “It seems that I simply don't mind when it comes to you,” he says, helplessly.

Danny's tired features soften at that: “You big goof,” he murmurs, possibly loving Steve even more right this moment. This time, he doesn't try to stop his heart from soaring though, because evidently, he's been stupid. Or blind. Or both. It makes him shiver ever so delicately.

Steve takes a deep breath: “Danno...” But then he falls silent. He doesn't know how to say what he's feeling, and he isn't at all sure if this is the right time. Or if there is one at all. Maybe he's already said too much; he doesn't want to put Danny in a position where he feels compelled to reply in kind just because he feels guilty or in Steve's debt.

But Danny is smiling now, a smile which illuminates his entire face: “Let me try something here,” he breathes, reaching for Steve's hand and threading their fingers together.

Despite the last few days, his touch is electrifying all of a sudden. Steve stares at their joined hands, his large one and Danny's smaller one, his endearingly slender fingers, and feels a prickling sensation somewhere behind his eyes.

“What are you doing?” he manages.

Danny studies him: “Taking care of you, for a change,” he replies. “Okay, and me.”

Steve swallows: “Oh.”

Danny squeezes his hand, and shortly after that, his eyes close again. He doesn't let go of Steve's hand as he falls asleep, and Steve sits on the edge of the bed for a long time, stroking Danny's skin with his thumb in a cloud of confusion and butterflies.

 

Now that the fever's gone, Danny's feeling much better. He's still coughing, but his throat doesn't hurt so badly anymore, and he mainly sleeps during the following days. As he's getting stronger, he often makes his way out to the garden and lies down on Henry's foreleg; the Anglewing has been driven to the sanitarium and back for his PT sessions every day, and he still likes to nap as well afterwards. Steve, once he's convinced himself that Danny isn't in any immediate danger anymore, has gone back to work, therefore Aquila isn't around to keep Henry company during the days.

Steve didn't want to hear anything about returning to the sanitarium however: “Not as long as you're not sufficiently recovered,” he says.

Danny grumbles something about Steve not being a doctor, after all, but complies; admittedly, it's much nicer here, and Steve seems to like being in charge. Every evening, provided he isn't home too late, he cooks something, and he seems to enjoy not to be alone in the house.

Well. Apart from that, there's a palpable change between Danny and him, though they haven't talked about it yet.

There's even more casual touching, if that's at all possible: tentative, yes, but often lingering longer than before.

And then, one late afternoon, Danny wakes up in the hammock with Steve's hand flat on his chest, solid and warm, a comfortable weight. Instinctively, Danny puts his own hand on top of it, keeping Steve's in place and smiling up at him. He doesn't know that Steve's been interrogating a suspect all afternoon, a man amongst the lowest of the local low-lifes; while Steve wasn't intimidated by him, the guy and the way he appeared entirely unrepenting about the error of his ways made him tremendously uneasy nevertheless, and he was relieved to escape the inherent darkness which seemed to linger around him. And then he came home to find rather the opposite, namely Danny asleep in the hammock, his lovely face relaxed, strands of his hair moving gently in the soft afternoon breeze, and it felt as though Steve suddenly could breathe again. And he had to touch Danny to complete the picture of him, had to feel him; as he did so, he had his aunt's voice in his mind: _Just keep being yourself._

“Danno,” Steve now says softly and almost timidly, his eyes caressing the other's face. “Can I tell you something?”

Danny hums; his sleep-soft features are so lovely that Steve's heart is almost overflowing with affection for this man, so his next words come easily: “You are what I didn't know I wanted.”

Now that it's out, he ducks his head ever so slightly as if expecting Danny to shy back, to yell at him maybe.

But Danny just keeps looking at him; a jolt has gone through his body at Steve's words, albeit a pleasant one, and he's trembling a little as he raises his free hand and touches Steve's mouth, his cheek, his jaw: “I am?”

Steve turns his face into Danny's palm, closing his eyes: “I miss you whenever I'm not with you. I didn't know I was lonely without you.”

He feels Danny's thumb on the delicate skin around his eye, gently, caressing: “So it's not just me,” he says softly.

Now a jolt goes through Steve as well as; he opens his eyes again, looks at the smile on Danny's face and leans forward unthinkingly, heart beating like a drum, to kiss him. It's tender and hungry at the same time, and when they pull apart, they are both a little breathless and more than a little giddy.

Danny nuzzles Steve's nose with his own: “You have me, Babe,” he says softly. “You've had me before I even knew it.”

Steve's stomach is somersaulting again. Danny can feel Steve tremble under his touch and pulls him closer, wraps his arms around him tightly and feels the other burrowing into him. He can smell Steve's aftershave and his own unique scent and realizes how he's already begun to associate it with safety and home even before this, right here, Steve's warm weight comfortably, deliciously against him.

 

When Henry and Aquila come out of the water a while later, both Danny and Steve are fast asleep in the hammock, arms around one another, legs entangled, Danny's cheek resting against Steve's forehead.

Aquila cocks his head: “I've never seen Steve doing that with anyone,” he whispers.

“I've only ever seen Danno in this hammock alone or with Gracie,” Henry replies.

“Well, I'm not surprised,” Aquila then states. “Steve always seems happy with your Danno around.”

They look at their humans for a while longer, then they quietly retreat to the pavilion and curl up together as well.

“Do you think they'll have an egg together?” Henry asks after a few moments of silence.

“Why, did they look dopey to you recently?”

“No.”

“Hm. Did you see them kissing?”

“No. Did you?”

“No. But I don't think it's possible for them to have an egg anyway if none of them is female,” Aquila says, wisely. “And they've already got Gracie.”

For some reason, Henry feels relieved at that. “Good,” he mutters, closing his eyes. “I wouldn't mind if they kissed, though.”

Aquila sighs: “Me neither. That way, we can all stay together.”

Henry peers at him: “I'd like that,” he mutters. “Very much.”

 

On the following morning, Danny is a little disoriented at first because he's lying in a strange bed and he's not alone. It quickly comes back to him however: Steve and he, the hammock. He smiles; they woke up late because the air was getting cool, so they made their way into the house without letting go of each another, up the stairs and into Steve's bedroom, where they slowly, reverently, undressed one another; Danny can still feel Steve's butterfly kisses on his collarbone, the other's velvety soft skin just south of his navel under his fingertips.

It was the first time since the accident that he felt good about his body, and he still does now that they're entangled in their nakedness. He's missed this, this intimate physical closeness to someone, and Steve feels amazing, soft and firm at the same time. Danny tenderly runs his fingertips along Steve's spine and further down until Steve stirs, humming against Danny's collarbone: “Morning, Danno,” he mutters, rubbing his stubbly jaw against Danny's skin.

Gently, because he absolutely needs to kiss him, Danny pulls him closer until their noses touch; Steve's eyes are smiling at him, his hand caressing his temple.

“Good morning, Babe,” he says into the kiss, marveling at the sensation of Steve lying on top of him, melding into him with such ease as if they were made for one another. In the back of his mind, he fleetingly wonders how it is going to feel to properly be with him and his stomach gives a little jolt; he's never been with a man before. But then he loses himself in the kiss and Steve's now wandering hand; nothing to worry about, after all.

 

When they get outside some time later, the dragons, who have played with the ball, are just leaving the water.

“Good morning,” both say brightly, and they seem to be anticipating something; Danny actually feels himself reminded of Christmas.

It's not before Steve and he have sat down on the lanai with some coffee however that it becomes obvious that the dragons are indeed waiting for something; both sit and watch their humans attentively.

“What're you two up to?” Steve asks, leaning back in his chair with his mug.

Aquila exchanges a look with Henry: “We're just curious,” he says lightly. “Carry on...”

Steve looks at Danny with a raised eyebrow.

“Now was that 'dopey', do you think?” Aquila whispers to Henry.

Unfortunately, Steve has very good ears. “Excuse me?”

Henry, who doesn't want his friend to get in trouble, cocks his head: “He was just... musing.”

Hiding a grin, Steve shrugs: “Musing about what, exactly?”

Aquila exchanges another look with Henry: “Whether you two are going to kiss.”

Danny nearly chokes with laughter, which is never a good idea while drinking coffee. He quickly puts down his mug: “Should've seen this coming,” he says, a little strangled.

Steve shakes his head, unable to subdue his own laugh: “What does kissing have to do with-” But then he stops himself. “Have you been talking to Kono, Munchkin?”

Aquila nods: “She was very informative.”

Steve sighs: “I can imagine. And let me guess- she told you how to recognize if people are in love?”

“Yes, she did. But I don't think Chin Ho ever did look 'dopey'. Or maybe I didn't notice it if he did.”

“Nah, he probably didn't,” Steve replies. Then he looks over to Danny, who at least managed not to spill any coffee on himself and is still beaming with mirth: “And I don't know if we are. But yes, we've been kissing, and we're... well, we're a couple now.”

Both dragons are tilting their heads to the side in unison at this information.

“Don't worry, Puppy,” Danny now says, a little soberer, “nothing else is going to change for you, or Aquila.”

“You're not going to have an egg?”

At that, Danny scratches his head: “No, we're not. It's just... we fell in love with each other.” It makes him happy to say it, and judging from Steve's expression, him as well.

“Just like you did with Rachel?”

“Yes.” Danny looks from Henry to Steve: “Though this time, it'll hopefully work out.”

Steve smiles at him, taking his hand and squeezing it: “No doubt about that, Danno.”

 

Kono just nods, grinning broadly, when they tell her and Chin the news: “Niiice!” she says. “Though I totally saw that coming.”

Chin, with a long-suffering expression, takes out his wallet and hands her twenty dollars: “Yes, you did, cuz.”

 

 


	8. Part 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last part, guys. Thanks once more to all who left kudos and/or a comment!

 

February

Initially, Steve doesn't know whether to be amused or annoyed by Jenna Kaye in her ill-fitting suit and her deliberately threatening demeanour which is so difficult to reconcile with her little girl's face. Seriously, it's clear that some things aren't adding up here, and later, when he finds her in her hotel room, managing to get one up at her before she can hide behind her carefully set up sharade again, he's leaning more towards amused. That is, he would if she didn't have solid proof about the man called Wo Fat who's suddenly become someone who needs to be reckoned with, proof Steve needs. And if she did't have that tape from the toolbox.

And then everything goes to hell in a handbasket. Steve, against better judgement riled up by Wo Fat, goes to confront the governor and ends up being arrested for her murder. A week later, he's being stabbed in prison by Victor Hesse, of all people, and subsequently manages to escape from the ambulance, as foreseen by his former training officer, Joe White, whom Danny contacted. By the time Steve's being exonerated, not only Aquila is at the end of his tether.

 

That evening, after a round of toasts at HQ, Steve, Danny and the dragons return to Steve's house rather wearily. They are relieved that things ended relatively well, of course, but the discovery that Steve's dad apparently knew Wo Fat weighs on the guys, and apart from that, Steve's exhausted and hurting. Since Aquila has been missing him for so long however, he promises his dragon that they'll come back outside once he's had a shower.

Reassured by that, Aquila and Henry go fishing while Danny ushers Steve up the stairs. He moves slower than usual, testimony of his wound and all that he's been through. In the bedroom, he looks around: everything looks like he's left it, but there are a few new additions: a couple of books on the dresser, a nearly empty bottle of aftershave, an oblong pillow Danny sometimes uses to elevate his knee. When he turns round to his partner, Danny actually blushes: “Yeah, well, sorry to spring this on you, but I kind of moved in here in the meantime.”

He continues quickly: “Aquila was so distraught that we didn't want to leave him alone, and after a few days, the director asked me into his office. I guess he was suspecting something fishy going on, probably read all the tabloids. Anyway, he said if we were not staying at the pavilion anyway, we'd have to rearrange matters because people are on waiting lists. So we're now registered as out-patients.” Most of his things are still in boxes in Mary's old room though because he didn't know if Steve wants this, and he didn't want to pressure him into something he's not comfortable with.

Danny peers at Steve a little nervously now, but Steve simply steps closer to him and wraps him into his arms, burying his nose in Danny's hair, nuzzling at his neck and inhaling his scent: “I was going to suggest it anyway,” he mutters. “I love you, Danno. I missed you so much...”

Relieved, Danny hugs him back; he can feel Steve trembling, and he's just grateful that he's got him back.

“You sure?” he asks, nevertheless, because he isn't used to so much fortune anymore.

Steve just holds him more tightly.

“Thank you,” Danny therefore whispers, pressing a kiss on his partner's chest. “I love you too.” Then he pulls back a little and clears his throat: “But if you ever do something like that again, without at least me for backup, I'll kill you.”

Steve can't help the smile which spreads on his face at that: “Okay, Danno,” he says tamely.

 

Danny helps Steve out of his clothes because his wound is really making itself known now that the painkillers are wearing off; he indulges himself in a ten minute shower which is heavenly, but he feels a bit tottery afterwards and is grateful that Danny is there, not fussing at all but just wrapping him into a large towel and patting him dry. In fact, Steve's arms and legs seem to consist of jelly by now; he barely manages to slip into his underwear and track pants and is secretly relieved when Danny makes him sit on the bed and helps him with the t-shirt again, gently guiding his arms through the sleeves and pulling it down over the fresh dressing.

“There's nothing in the fridge, so I've ordered pizza,” he says while he towels Steve's hair dry. “Do you want to take some painkillers now or rather wait till you've eaten something?”

Instead of an answer, Steve reaches for him and pulls him close, wrapping his arms around his midriff and pressing his cheek against Danny's belly: “Don't care,” he mutters, his fatigue palpable now. The physical pain must be bearable then, Danny thinks as he tosses the towel aside and tenderly cards his fingers through Steve's still damp hair, feels the remaining tension in his body dissolve gradually.

Who'd have thought he'd ever have this again. With a man, at that. It's not that he's overly surprised because he's had crushes on men before, but never like this. This is something deeply overwhelming, something he wants to keep. He didn't need Steve's stint in prison to realize how utterly besotted he is with him, it only served to make it painfully clear to him once more how much he'd have been missing out on if they hadn't met.

“Come on,” he says after a while, even though he'd be perfectly content to just stay here. “I've heard the dragons outside, they'll be waiting.”

In fact, Aquila is already pawing the ground impatiently when Steve and Danny appear on the lanai, and he immediately nuzzles Steve, curling his forelegs around him possessively: “I'd never have allowed them to arrest you,” he said, “if only I had known...”

“I'm sorry for not telling you what I was doing,” Steve mutters. But he did that on purpose, because he knew it was risky. If Aquila had been caught waiting for him somewhere outside, he'd have been an accomplice. And since he'd never have surrendered and probably would have tried to free his captain at that, he'd have been in danger of being harmed.

 

That night, both Steve and Danny sleep outside on an old camping mat with their dragons curled up around them.

Steve wakes up early on the following morning just as is his wont; his eyes feel gritty though and he's not allowed to swim due to the wound, therefore he stays where he is, wrapped around Danny and sheltered by two large, scaled bodies, but he can't keep his mind from wandering. He thinks about his father, Wo Fat, Victor Hesse and the Yakuza. Wo Fat seems like a chameleon, he's got his fingers in all kinds of things, and he's dangerously clever. Steve thinks about increased security measures and all the ways in which a man can get to Hawaii illegally.

At least Wo Fat doesn't have access to a dragon, he muses groggily; to this day, it is illegal for civilians to acquire dragon eggs, hatchlings or adult specimens, since individuals are prohibited from owning dragons, which is solely reserved for the military, law enforcement and courier services. Hence, there are strict limitations regarding dragon ownership; Danny and Henry for example are a special case. Since Henry was deemed inoperative after his injury, he'd probably have gone into a breeding program if his captain had decided to give him up.

Steve shudders at the inhumanity of the system. On the other hand, he's glad that the laws regarding dragons are so strict: Wo Fat on a large combat class dragon would be a catastrophe. Steve's been pondering this during his time in Halawa, has in fact had nightmares of Wo Fat on a Celestial, whose roar is the most superior weapon a single dragon can possess; Steve can't imagine how they'd have gotten out of that alive. Well. Celestial eggs are very strictly monitored, of course, but it usually only requires the right amount of money, after all, and there are other kinds of dragons which can wreak considerable havoc on their own, like acid spitters or fire-breathing specimens. With a man like Wo Fat one has to expect the worst, therefore Steve is planning on alerting all the relevant authorities nevertheless.

Shifting a little, Steve tightens his arms around Danny and tries to think of something else, though preferably not his dad. He focuses on his partner's quiet breathing instead, the steady motion of his chest and the small huffs of hot, humid air against his sternum, nosing Danny's forehead and his hair; now he knows how it smells and how soft it is, and these little details have been holding him up in Halawa, are making him happy: it's like a puzzle with a thousand pieces, and all of them together are making up his Danno.

Behind him, Aquila mutters something in his sleep, Steve can feel the reverberations against his own back. This is a moment he'd stop time for if he could, and he is grateful to have these.

 

Since Danny didn't bring many of his possessions to Hawaii, there aren't too many immediate changes in the house because of his presence; apart from his clothes, there are the books, some knick-knacks, a collection of family recipes and the pictures of and by Grace. There's a photo album as well, containing mostly photos of Grace during her first six years, and a few of Henry. Steve looks at it during one rainy evening and finds himself touched by the sense of love and loss the album conveys in equal parts: a younger Danny as a new father, radiating happiness, and the time which followed: Grace as a newborn, an older baby, a toddler, a little girl with pigtails.

Birthdays, Christmases and snow, family pictures, holidays, quiet days at home- it's all there, all kept for eternity. The picture Steve finds himself looking at the longest is of a sleepy Grace, maybe two years old at the time, snuggled up in her dad's arms with her pacifier in her mouth; she's holding a stuffed dog and is looking at the camera with heavily lidded eyes while Danny doesn't even seem aware that he's being photographed; it looks as though he's reading to his daughter. It's such a cosy moment and there's so much closeness that Steve feels bad for his partner for having lost this.

His expression mirrors his sentiments, apparently, because Danny regards him with a sad smile. But they're both clear on one thing: if their previous lives hadn't ended, they'd never have met.

Apart from that, it's doing Steve's bruised heart good to have someone else living with him, someone who fills the old house with life in a myriad of new, often small but still tremendous ways: the scent of coffee in the morning when he comes in from his swim, Danny humming his favourite songs under the shower or while he's cooking, a tender embrace after a tiresome day. Gradually, some of Gracie's things migrate into the house as well: a box of crayons here, a Barbie doll there, a pair of small, pink Crocs by the back door, a third toothbrush in the bathroom.

Steve hasn't felt lonely before thanks to Aquila, but he now realizes that there are other dimensions, additional possibilities. And he enjoys the change the new situation brings with it: he calls the contractors who built Aquila's pavilion and inquires about an extension; Danny, Grace and he remodel his old room for her so that she'll feel at home and welcome any time she comes over.

Rachel sounded strangely amused but not at all surprised when Danny informed her of the latest developments. And she seems to approve of Steve, which is a relief and probably's got a lot to do with the fact that Gracie loves him and his dragon and his house with the private beach; every time she's been over, she comes home elated and happy. And Rachel has eyes, of course: she can see how much better Danny is looking of late, and she's glad about that. She still loves him, deep down, because he's a good guy and he's got a heart the size of a small moon. There are times she wishes they hadn't lost what they had, that she'd have been more understanding, perhaps; but what's done is done. At least they've reached a point where they can talk civilly with one another, which is more than she'd have thought during their lowest moments. So yes, she's happy for him, therefore she drops Grace off with a much lighter heart than she initially did.

And Grace is just over the moon that her dad has found someone to be at home with, both literally and figuratively. She's happy for Henry as well: he's found a very good friend in Aquila, and Danno told her that he had been missing his old buddies from work. So now neither of them is lonely anymore, and she gets to spend much more time with them, which is all she needs, really.

 

 

March

“I'm thinking of inviting a few people for drinks on my birthday,” Steve says as he and Danny are sorting through their clean laundry one evening, making four piles: Steve, Danny, Grace, towels.

Danny pauses: “About that...” He clears his throat. “As it happens... it's my birthday as well.”

Steve stares at him, feeling like an idiot: now that Danny mentions it, he realizes that he's never asked about the date, and he doesn't remember reading it in Danny's file.

“So we're exactly the same age?” he asks, just to make sure.

Danny shrugs: “Yep. 1976. A good year.”

Steve grins: “But that's brilliant! Why didn't you say so before?”

“It just never came up.”

“Bordering on negligence,” Steve says, shaking his head. “Sorry, Danno.”

“No biggie. So... how about drinks and a barbecue? I know it's a Thursday, but... it'd be nice.”

“Absolutely. Call Rachel maybe and ask her for an exception in your schedule? Gracie's going to stay with us that weekend anyway. I can drive her to school on Friday.”

Danny nods, his eyes bright: “Okay. I'll give her a call.”

 

It turns out to be a great evening; they've invited Kono, Chin, Max and Kamekona, and Grace charms them all. The dragons, who've started the day by singing 'Happy Hatching Day' for them since they've got difficulties to wrap their heads around the whole concept of birth, have caught a large tuna which Kamekona magics into a delicious dish.

Danny feels truly blessed; last year, Henry and he were still at sea around this time, and while Henry congratulated him and sang for him under his breath, he managed to otherwise forget it.

“Danno,” Grace says as he puts her to bed around nine, considering it's a school night, “did you make a wish when you blew out the candles?” She brought a self-baked cake for him and Steve and put 24 candles on it, twelve for each- “like the twelve months of a year” she said.

Danny strokes her arm: “I did, Monkey.”

“That's good. I kept my fingers crossed that it'll get fulfilled.”

Danny looks at her with a smile, thinking that miraculously, it already did.

 

“Steve?” he asks once they've crawled into bed much later and his partner has wrapped himself around him in a possessive yet endearing way; well, he's rather buzzed.

“Yes, Babycakes?”

Oh dear. _Very_ buzzed.

“I got some good news today.”

“Apart from the fact that you 'don't look as old as you are'?” Steve grins just as broadly as Kono did when she said it.

“Which is entirely your bad influence, if you ask me,” Danny replies, regarding Steve with a fond look.

“Nah, girl's always had cheek.”

“I dare you to call her a girl to her face.”

Steve squints, looking adorably goofy:“I dare not. So what's the news?”

“I had my last PT session today. I'm officially no longer a patient.”

At that, Steve's grin widens: “Aww, I'm so happy for you, Danno!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah... means you're finally fit for flying, right?”

“It does.”

“I like it when you're aboard with me.”

Danny gives a long-suffering sigh: “I know.”

“Don't you like flying with me, Babe?”

“It's not so much the flying... it's what you're doing to people in order to get them to talk.”

“I'm always so resourceful,” Steve says proudly. “Did I tell you about the shark cage?”

Danny rolls his eyes at that, but he's actually really, really happy.

 

The terror Danny feels upon Jenny Kaye's phone call from North Korea no two weeks later is rendering him motionless for a minute, paralyzed with fear and unable to think. Wo Fat; Steve and he have been discussing him. In connection with the militia of a corrupt country, this doesn't bode well at all. But he can't lose Steve, he can't lose him, and what is he going to tell Aquila?

He struggles to breathe evenly, but then there's Chin, calm and composed as usual, who puts one hand on Danny's arm: “Take Aquila and find Joe White. There'll be a way to get Steve back, you hear me?”

Danny looks at him: Chin's expression is worried, but he's right, they have to do something. And that doesn't mean panicking. So Danny takes a deep breath and nods: “Okay. Okay.”

Aquila, who's been very unhappy about Steve going to North Korea without him anyway, immediately sits up on his haunches when Danny comes into the courtyard with his carabiners: “We've got an errand to run, Aquila,” he says, forcing himself to appear calm. “Henry, will you be alright?”

Henry, sensing that this is urgent, nods: “Yes, of course.”

“Does it have something to do with Steve?” Aquila asks while he lifts Danny to the base of his neck, where he straps himself in.

“Yes. You'll hear it when we're at Joe's.”

“Okay, then. Later, Henry!” With that, Aquila leaps into the air, anxious to hear about the latest developments.

 

While he's relieved that Joe immediately has ideas how to get to North Korea and how to proceed once they're there, he doesn't like the notion that he isn't included in those.

“I'm sorry, Munchkin,” Danny says, stroking his muzzle. “We'd draw unnecessary attention to ourselves if we took you along. And foreign dragons aren't allowed to enter the country anyway.”

Aquila droops his head unhappily: “But-”

“Listen, my dear,” Joe interrupts him; he's known Aquila nearly all his life, and the dragon trusts him. “We'll make contact with an old friend of mine, and his dragon.”

“What kind of dragon?”

“A Regal Copper.”

“Oh!” Aquila perks up at that: Regal Coppers are the largest dragons in combat.

“He's been serving during the Vietnam war, among others,” Joe tells him. “Which means he and his captain are very experienced. And they've been living in Korea for quite some time now, they can help us.”

Danny exchanges a glance with him: “I know how you feel,” he then says softly to Aquila. “But I'll be gone as well, and I need you to look after Henry while we're away.”

Aquila heaves a sigh: “Of course I will look after him. He's my best friend. But who is going to look after you?”

Touched, Danny strokes his muzzle again: “We'll be careful, promise.” He pauses before he turns away: “I'm very grateful for all you've done for Henry, I hope you know that, Munchkin.”

Aquila nuzzles him: “I do, Danno.”

 

Nevertheless, it's with a heavy heart that he says goodbye to the dragons, and Henry wraps his forelegs around him and refuses to let go of him for a few minutes. But time's at the essence, and in the end, the animals understand this. Danny waves once, then forces himself not to turn back again as he gets into Chin's car. He's arranged for Kamekona to look in on the dragons, and for him to make sure that Henry meets his appointments, but it feels as though he's abandoning them. He's told himself he'd never leave Henry again, but here he is. Not only leaving Henry but not even sure that they'll return at all.

With another pang, he thinks of Grace: he hasn't even called Rachel. If anything goes wrong, she'll be entirely unprepared for the news. But he doesn't know what to tell her, or how to tell Grace that he might not be coming back. It's not usually his style to chicken out from something like this, but he simply doesn't feel up to it, and besides- he can't but hope for the best. Has to, against the odds.

As if to encourage this train of thought, SEAL team nine shows up unexpectedly just as the team and Joe are about to board the plane which will take them to North Korea, offering to accompany them; apparently, Steve has saved the life of one of them some time ago, and they are keen to repay him.

“We owe him and Five-0 a big deal,” their leader, Wade Gutches says; he's another old friend of Joe's, and Danny thinks that he's got something trustworthy about him which is immensely reassuring. As the plane rolls onto the runway, Danny briefly closes his eyes and says a short prayer to whichever deity will hear him nevertheless.

 

 

To Be Continued

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In real life, Scott Caan's and Alex O'Loughlin's birthdays are one day apart, but I liked the idea of it actually being on the same day.


	9. Part 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the last part! Thank you for reading!

 

It turns out that 'Tangerine', Frank Bama's dragon, is not very keen on going on a mission; he's curled up and dozing when they arrive, but when he hears that they are trying to save someone, he slowly gets to his feet.

His size truly is impressive, his harness, once it's been put on, not so much- it's old and looks rather scantily cobbled together in places. When Tangerine shakes himself and announces that all lies well, this is met by mainly sceptical expressions; they don't have an alternative though.

The SEALs take strategic places all over the massive body, three of them even in the belly-netting, while Danny, Kono and Chin strap themselves in behind Frank; Joe White takes position just behind the massive wings.

Wo Fat has contracted some militia or other indeed, but Tangerine and the SEALs make short work of the few dragons they have. Danny's almost sorry for them, since they're haggard, starved-looking creatures who don't stand a chance against a Regal Copper and the well-trained snipers on his back.

They don't find Steve in the bunker which the coordinates they gleaned from Jenna's phone call lead them to; they do find her body though, and for Danny, it's difficult to leave her there, despite everything.

 

Tangerine, Frank and Kono have spotted a convoy of trucks in the meantime, and once they've stopped and attacked it successfully, they find Steve.

To be precise, Danny does. He pulls the tarpaulin on the last truck aside with a mixture of trepidation and real fear: what if they're too late, what if Steve's dead by now, or not even here?

But he is, blinking into the sudden brightness with evident surprise, as if he can't believe what he's seeing. He looks awful and Danny plans on never letting him out of his sight again as he climbs onto the truck bed, shouting that he's found Steve, and kneels down in front of him, his hands shaking as he skims over the rope that binds Steve's wrists, his eyes roaming over his partner's face: “Steve!”

“Wo Fat,” Steve rasps. “Where-”

“Shut up, would you,” is all Danny manages, for a brief moment pausing in the attempt to free the other, raising his hand to his face instead, cupping his cheek despite the blood and the grime, the sweat: “Are you hurt, Babe?”

And Steve leans into the touch for a moment, grateful for the sense of safety it conveys: “Not too badly,” he mutters, which is Steve-speak for what others'd call being in considerable pain. Therefore Danny's glad that Tangerine, half an hour later, unexpectedly gently folds his impressive claw around Steve to carry him, barring any discussions.

Admittedly, Frank and his dragon got the job done, but Danny only feels like he can breathe again once they've reached the airfield where their plane is waiting.

Steve looks rather worse for wear as Danny and one of the SEALs support him into the cargo bay; Joe has organized a gurney, which is strapped to the floor. Steve grunts as they ease him onto it, but he looks relieved to be lying down, and Danny is concerned to see that he seems to zone out a few times while two of the SEALs bring out an impressive first-aid kit and begin to see to Steve's injuries. They even get an IV going to rehydrate him.

Steve indeed weaves in and out of consciousness for a while, mostly from pure exhaustion and the lack of sustenance. He's aware that Danny's close by, which is immensely reassuring; now that the adrenaline's worn off, he can feel every little ache, every injury with biting sharpness, therefore he gladly takes the heavy duty painkillers he'd otherwise have refused, since he doesn't like how they're rendering him unable to function. But if he is honest with himself, he wants nothing more than to just sleep until they're home, and he knows that Danny is going to watch over him. In fact, as soon as they've taken off and reached cruising altitude, Danny opens his safety belt and crouches down next to the gurney, his hand closing around his partner's. Therefore Steve allows himself to drift off, and it doesn't take long until he's out cold.

Danny, who has his difficulties with enclosed spaces, is grateful that he can focus on Steve, even if it means sitting on the floor in a somewhat uncomfortable position; it's better than staying in his seat and clutching a paper bag, just as he did for much of the flight in.

He feels weak with relief now they're on their way back and Steve is still breathing, that he hasn't lost him after all. Once they've landed in Oahu, Steve's going to the hospital if he wants to or not; Danny is determined to make him. From the looks of Chin and Kono though, he's not the only one to think so.

 

In the end, they don't have to force Steve at all; he's in enough pain again by the time they land that he doesn't even begin to protest. Danny assures their friends that they can go home and rest, that they'll be okay, and stays at Steve's side as long as he's allowed. The only time he has to wait outside during triage, he gets a large if disgusting coffee from a vending machine, which is enough to keep him going for a while.

A few hours later and against his better judgement, Danny hears himself assuring the doctor that Steve will be sufficiently cared for at home if only they release him. This probably has something to do with his own prolonged stint in the hospital after the accident and definitely has a lot to do with his own, selfish need to have Steve with him.

 

They arrive back in Piikoi Street in the early hours of the morning, though they've got no idea which day it is. They walk around the house- well, Danny walks and supports Steve, who all but hobbles- into the garden, expecting the dragons to be asleep. As soon as they come in sight of the pavilion, however, Aquila lifts his head: “Steve! Danno!”

At that, Henry also opens his eyes. A moment later, they're being crowded and nuzzled by their beasts. Aquila just takes one look at Steve and hisses in dismay: “I should never have let you leave!”

“Word,” Danny mumbles.

Steve is too tired to argue, so he just leans against his dragon and soaks up his warmth and his affection; he didn't think he'd get out of there alive, and he's eternally grateful that he's here, with his loved ones.

The dragons can see that both Steve and Danny need to get clean and then sleep, so they eventually let them go, utterly happy to have them back.

 

Steve feels like he's having a déjà-vu as Danny is steering him up the stairs and into the bedroom, but this time, they are both dragging their feet, and Danny doesn't look much better than him by now, grimy and pale as he is. Still, he undresses Steve first, looking at Steve's bandaged middle with a frown: “Cattle prod,” he mutters, his voice brittle at that.

Steve steps closer to him, nuzzles his forehead with his mouth: “Don't think about it, Danno,” he replies softly. “It's over.”

He's been given more of the good drugs at the hospital, which are taking the edge off the world rather pleasantly right now, therefore he doesn't feel the pain at the moment, only a faint echo of it.

Danny thinks he'll be unable not to think about it for quite some time, but for now, he can at least focus on the more pressing things which need dealing with.

Since Steve can't shower with the bandages and Danny doesn't want him to take them off already, they settle for a bath. Danny fills the tub with just enough water for Steve to be able to wash properly but for the waterline to stay below the bandage around his torso.

Due to the combination of medication and exhaustion, Steve staggers around like a newborn giraffe, therefore Danny steadies him just as he's losing his balance: “Whoa, easy there, big guy.”

Steve is quiet when he's worn out, that's something Danny has learned about him in the meantime, so he isn't surprised when Steve doesn't answer, but it's a little disconcerting nevertheless after what he's just been through. Danny knows that Steve's been trained to endure torture, but the human mind is a funny thing, after all, and Steve probably didn't expect to be rescued. Therefore Danny wonders how far back into his mind his partner retreated before they found him, and what that's done to him. And if Steve is going to be able to heed his own advice and not think about it. And if that's a good thing or a bad one.

Steve almost pitches forward again when Danny lets go of him, so he resumes his grip and helps him into the tub, then hands him a washcloth: “Will you be okay?” he asks. When Steve nods, he steps out of his own clothes and takes a quick shower; it's utterly pleasant to wash off the grime, though he can't quite shake the smell of that bunker. Just as he can't forget the sight of Jenna.

“Four minutes,” Steve observes when Danny turns off the water. “Not bad.”

“Shut up.” Secretly though, Danny is glad about the comment. He quickly dries himself off, goes to put on some fresh underwear and a t-shirt and returns immediately, hair still wet: Steve hasn't gotten very far in the meantime, he's too uncoordinated, and his arms don't work properly; no surprise, considering. So Danny crouches down next to the tub and takes the cloth, methodically washing the dirt and remaining blood off while Steve watches him with increasingly heavily lidded eyes. Lastly, Danny washes his hair, careful not to get any shampoo into his eyes; he wraps the towel he used earlier around Steve's shoulder so that he can rinse the soap out without getting the bandage wet.

“You done this before?” Steve slurs.

“I've got a daughter, remember? She used to scream bloody murder when she got shampoo into her face.” He pulls the plug: “Ready to get out?”

“Can't we just sleep here? There's room for both of us if I just slide sideways a little- ow.”

Shaking his head, Danny manages to get Steve to his feet and out of the tub without any accidents; he wraps him into a towel and dries him off while Steve leans against him; he's still got a smaller towel around his head when Danny helps him into bed, and he's asleep only seconds after he's hit the pillows.

Sighing with fatigue, Danny closes the curtains, then crawls under the covers. The shower was too short to loosen his cramped up muscles, but he feels himself relax as he shimmies as close to Steve as he can without further hurting him, nose against his skin, and feels his partner respond by pressing himself against him even in his sleep.

They sleep all day, don't even notice that Kamekona looks in on them at one point; they haven't notified him that they're back, and the dragons were after all quite worried.

 

When Danny wakes up in the early evening, he feels muzzy and not quite ready to open his eyes, but in the end, it's his bladder who makes him. He staggers to the bathroom and back, sitting down on the mattress heavily and rubbing his hand over his face, trying to find his bearings.

Steve looks marginally better; a little colour has returned to his face. Danny looks at him, trying to fathom this man, who can kill someone with his pinky, apparently, but to whom loyalty, friendship and family mean so much that his judgement is clouded at times. Well, Jenna Kaye fooled them all. Still, it shouldn't have been so easy for her to lure Steve straight into Wo Fat's trap; if it hadn't been for Joe White and his invaluable contacts- Danny forbids himself to think this thought to its end.

Instead, he gets up, but a movement outside has him pause and pull the curtain aside a bit: what he sees is making him smile. Aquila and Henry are sitting in front of the balcony, trying to peer in. He motions for them to wait until he's outside, then closes the curtain again; Steve is still fast asleep, and he doesn't want to wake him. So he quietly pads downstairs and outside, where Henry immediately nuzzles him: “Are you alright, Danno?” he asks at the same time that Aquila demands to know how Steve's doing.

“Steve's still asleep,” Danny says, putting his hand on Henry's muzzle, “he's very tired, and he's taken some painkillers. You've seen him, he's a little beaten up.”

Aquila droops his head: “Will he be okay?”

“Yeah.” With his free hand, Danny reaches out to stroke him as well: “He's tough, Munchkin. He just needs some time to recover.”

“And you?” Henry asks again.

“I'm fine, Puppy. I was just very tired as well, and now I'm starving.”

“Kamekona's brought some dishes for us and for you. He said he'd leave it in the fridge.”

Which sounds heavenly about now, so Danny goes to see what Kamekona brought; he takes a container of shrimp on rice outside and eats it on the lanai, then he stretches out on Henry's foreleg; it's getting dark and he's almost dozed off again when Steve appears, all rumpled and battered and groggy.

Between Danny and the dragons, they manage to make him eat and drink something so that he can take some more painkillers later if he needs them; afterwards, Aquila gently lifts him on his foreleg so that he can lean against his dragon's chest and enjoy the balmy evening air. Danny reads to the dragons as he does on most evenings, and his voice lulls Steve into a state of drowsiness.

 

They stay outside until late, but at one point, Steve slides off Aquila's foreleg with a grunt and says he needs to sleep in his bed tonight. Aquila nuzzles him tenderly; Steve has explained to him about mattresses, therefore he understands.

Danny kisses Henry's forehead and follows Steve, who is making his way up the stairs with measured steps. The truth is that Steve not only wants his bed but also Danny, as close as possible and preferably naked because he needs all the skin contact he can get. When he woke up earlier and found himself alone, he was thoroughly confused, for a moment wondering if he had imagined it all. But then he looked around and saw Danny's things, and when he rolled over, he could smell Danny's scent as well.

Still, it was unpleasant, and it's something he's never experienced before as an adult, this almost physical longing for on another person; he doesn't want to label it 'dependence' because he's always been utterly independent, thank you very much. On the other hand, he doesn't really care what it's called because it's a positive feeling; for a time, he thought he'd never trust another human being again, thought Aquila was all he needed. And now he's got this partner who even flew all the way to Korea to save him, and to whom he can open up entirely and know he's safe.

Therefore he turns around to Danny as soon as they're in the bedroom and tugs at his t-shirt, and Danny, after looking surprised for the fraction of a second, understands and takes the shirt off, and then his pants. Steve is also shrugging out of his and waits until Danny helps him with the t-shirt because lifting his arms is just impossible for the time being.

As soon as they're both naked, Steve presses against Danny with his whole body, winding his arms around him almost as an afterthought, relishing in the warm velvet that is his skin, the strength he can feel in him, the solidness which has the ability to anchor them both. For a blessed, immeasurable while they just hold on to one another with vice-like grips, then Danny begins to ghost feathery kisses on Steve's chest and feels Steve's lips on his forehead, trailing down to his ear and his neck.

Slowly, they move over to the bed and ease themselves onto it without letting go, mindful of Steve's injuries but never stopping; they need this, need to feel the other and forget about Korea and cattle prods and the fragility of a life.

And if this is one way to make Steve feel better about himself because it's something he can control, Danny's happy to give it to him.

It's different than any other time before, since Steve's battered body makes itself known with every thoughtless motion; therefore, they move slowly, minutely, still clinging to one another, and it's gloriously intense; they sigh their relief against one another's lips.

Later, Danny gets a washcloth to clean them up; when he slips back into bed, Steve gently pushes him onto his back and crawls between his legs, lies down with his head on Danny's chest and both arms at his sides.

“This okay?” he asks, already drowsy; he's just taken his pain meds.

“Perfect,” Danny mutters; they're both still naked and a little sweaty, and in combination with Steve's warm weight, it simply feels amazing. He carefully wraps both arms around his partner's shoulders and closes his eyes, falling asleep to the rhythm of Steve's heart and the warm puffs of his breath on his skin.

 

“I love you,” is the first thing Steve says to him on the following morning; he's lying smug against Danny's back with one leg between his, and he seems to have been awake for a while, probably waiting for Danny to wake up. His voice is soft and a bit sleep-rough, but it doesn't sound off. To make sure he's okay, Danny, who's barely able to keep his eyes open, turns around in Steve's arms somewhat laboriously so that he can look him over, which requires a lot of blinking and squinting: Steve's definitely less pale, but there are bruise-like shadows underneath his eyes. His expression is relaxed though, a little bit amused even.

Danny smiles with the corners of his mouth: “I love you, too,” he mutters, leaning in for a kiss.

“You okay?” he then asks.

Steve studies him: “I am,” he says softly. “Because of you.”

“Huh?” Right after waking up, Danny's eloquence isn't at its best.

“You came to get me out.”

“Wasn't only me, was it?”

“No, but Joe told me that it was because of you.”

“You'd have done the same for me, Babe.” The fact that this is not a question makes Steve inexplicably happy.

“Yes, I would have. Still.” He smiles a little sadly but to Danny it's beautiful nevertheless. He raises one hand and traces the fine lines around Steve's eyes with his fingertips: “I don't know what we'd have done if we hadn't gotten you back,” he then says quietly.

“We?”

“Aquila, Henry. Grace. Me.”

Steve takes a shuddering breath: “I'm sorry,” he all but whispers, closing his eyes for a moment. “I was stupid.”

“No,” Danny says at once and with emphasis; if he wasn't quite awake before, he now is. “Babe, the last thing you ever were was stupid. You're compassionate and you wanted to help a friend.” He doesn't mention Wo Fat because Steve is obviously beating himself up enough as it is, so no point in adding oil to the flames. “So stop blaming yourself. I told you the mission itself was stupid and I was right, obviously, but _you_ weren't.”

Against his will, Steve huffs out a laugh: “Aren't you contradicting yourself there, Danno?”

“No, Steven, because it all makes sense if you care to listen closely. Mission: stupid. Your motives: not stupid. Ergo: You're not stupid. Only what you did. Not why you did it. Understood?”

Steve rolls his eyes at at that, but he smiles a little: “Aye.” His eyes roam over Danny's face: “Did I tell you that I love you?”

“Did we ask the doc about possible brain damage?”

“Seriously, Danno- I think I keep falling in love with you.” Steve looks adorably helpless as he says this.

Danny's grin accordingly softens into a wide smile which illuminates his entire face and he leans in for another kiss: “Do you believe me when I tell you that I feel the same?”

Steve hums into the kiss proudly: “Not a iota of doubt.”

 

An hour later, Joe, Chin and Kono arrive with fresh fruit and a bag of Malasadas; Steve is still shuffling around like an eighty-year-old, but the mundane task of brewing coffee is making him feel better about it.

They sit outside on the lanai and review the past few days while the dragons are out fishing.

“It looks like Jenna didn't have any next of kin apart from a cousin who lives in Canada,” Kono says quietly. “I've found the address so we can contact her.”

“Thank you,” Steve looks downtrodden at that.

“Any recent chatter about Wo Fat?” Danny asks.

Joe shakes his head: “Nothing so far. I'll keep my feelers out though.”

“He'll resurface, make no doubt about that,” Steve mutters darkly. Silently, Danny takes his hand under the table and squeezes it.

“He's got really good contacts everywhere,” Chin mutters, shaking his head: “And with the powerful backup he's got in the Yakuza and probably all of the other organized crime syndicates...” He falls silent.

Joe studies him: “So we'll make a plan. Start with the Yakuza, perhaps, and work our way through all of them if necessary.” His eyes glint as if this was a favourite pastime he was looking forward to.

Steve can't but smile at that: “Best foot forward, huh?”

“You know that I'm not very good at giving up, son,” Joe says.

Danny listens to all of this with mixed feelings: he isn't sure whether he should be glad about Joe's ideas or worried, or both. Here, in the golden morning sun under palm trees and with a view of the ocean, among what have become his friends- _ohana_ , his inner Steve corrects him goofily- the threat Wo Fat presents seems less palpable, surreal.

At least Steve doesn't have to face it alone, he thinks, grateful that they've got this amazing group of people.

He looks out at the dragons, who are done fishing, apparently: Aquila is lying in the shallows, basking in the morning sun, whereas Henry is diligently doing his exercises. Steadily, he flaps his wings up and down; he manages to do so more than ten consecutive times by now, and with increasing force. His therapist has gone so far and suggested that he might be flying again by the end of the year, and Danny is tentatively optimistic about it. It strikes him how fortunate they are, how far they've come; he thinks back to the first days on the island and vividly remembers how miserable he felt, how forlorn and useless. And he was homesick, which has been remedied somewhat in the meantime.

The sun is glinting on Henry's scales as Danny regards him now; it's not that he doesn't miss New Jersey anymore, part of him still does; but, looking around, it simply pales in comparison.

 

That night, as he gently massages salve into Steve's battered and still aching shoulders, Danny hums an old Sinatra song under his breath, not even aware that he's doing it. Steve closes his eyes and smiles: it's another little thing that allows for this house to be a home now, and he's ever so grateful not only because it's nice to have someone doing this for him. This little moment, with Danno being so relaxed while he's taking take of him: it's making Steve feel safe, despite everything. And he hopes that Danny feels the same.

“I'm really glad that you're here,” he says softly once the song has ended.

“Because of my magic hands?” Danny teases him gently.

“That too. But I meant _here_ here. In Hawaii.”

“Oh.” Danny pauses: “Are you getting sentimental, Watson?”

“ _No_ , Sherlock, I'm not. I was just thinking... you were so desolate when you first arrived here, and now so much has changed...” He falls silent.

Danny wipes his hands on a towel and comes to sit next to Steve on the edge of the mattress: “I'm happy,” he says quietly, regarding Steve. “It's the least I expected to happen, and I'm grateful it did. Wo Fat aside.”

Steve smiles at him: “Do you think it was fate, us meeting that day in the harbour?”

Danny shrugs: “Who knows.”

“I think it was fate,” Steve states, carefully wrapping his arms around his partner. “Two broken pieces who fit together perfectly and make a whole new one.”

Danny raises an eyebrow: “Have you been reading questionable life advice books?”

“No, that's a piece of poetic wisdom I came up with all by myself.”

“No reason to look so proud, Babe.”

Steve grins: “I guess I can come up with a few more. Maybe write them down...”

“If you do that, I'll bribe Aquila to tell me the story about the jello shots and the life vest.”

“Really? You'd stoop so low?”

“Anything goes in love and war.”

“I love you too.”

Danny stills, wrapping his own arms around Steve and burrowing his face in his neck, despite the lingering smell of the salve: “Whether it was fate or coincidence- I don't care,” he mumbles. “Back then, you said I looked lost and I was, in every sense. You remedied that.”

Steve turns his head so that he can kiss Danny's temple: “We both did,” he replies softly. “Together.”

“Together,” Danny confirms after a moment of consideration, feeling the warmth of Steve's affection throughout his whole being.

“But Danno,” Steve then says with his nose against his partner's skin. “I'm Sherlock. You're Watson.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

“You're blond and shorter than me and you walked with a cane.”

“But I'm the detective, not you, my dear. And he's a soldier, too.”

“Still.”

“Nuh-uh. You're Moriarty if you aren't careful, that's what you are.”

Against his will amused, Steve snorts: “Moriarty?”

“You're insane, he's insane... perfect match. He probably also drinks his coffee with butter in it.”

Steve sighs, rubbing his face against Danny's shoulder: “Can't we both be Sherlock?”

“Maybe.” Danny presses a kiss against Steve's hair. “After all, he's also insane, a bit.”

“Hm. And an accomplished chemist.”

“And a giant pain in Watson's a-”

“Okay, so maybe _I_ 'm Watson.”

“Idiot.”

“But you love me.”

Danny sighs as well but can't help the smile that spreads on his face as he returns Steve's goofily affectionate gaze now: “Like crazy.”

 

 

12 months later.

Two enormous shadows glide over the water as Aquila and Henry make their way out to sea. It's a beautiful day with surprisingly little wind, therefore the waves underneath them are small.

Danny keeps one hand on Henry's neck, secretly worried that he might tire out too soon, but the Anglewing seems entirely at ease, flying alongside his best friend with a view of finally fishing for tunnies in the open water. They are keeping a rather leisurely pace too, no doubt instigated by a few quiet words from Steve, who'll have asked the Chevalier to keep well within Henry's limits.

Danny, of course, wasn't exactly happy about the whole idea, since he still doesn't particularly like the sea, but now that Henry has indeed achieved the impossible and is flying again, he didn't want to deny him this. And Aquila being with them is immensely reassuring. Steve looks over to him and grins: “Doing well!” he shouts over the rush of the wind and the sound of their dragons' wings.

Danny nods, unable to keep a serious face himself, he's just so darn happy: for Henry, and also for his own sake.

Soon, Aquila begins to slow down: “We're nearly there,” he shouts.

 

An hour later, both dragons and their captains are rather wet, but even Danny doesn't mind because Henry seems to be in his element and is enjoying himself immensely, having caught several large tunnies already.

They take two home for a barbecue; Steve prepares a few pieces for Danny and himself and the rest for the dragons, who then declare grilled tunny one of their favourite dishes.

“Imagine tunny stuffed with shrimp,” Henry says dreamily, resting his head on his forelegs.

“Hmm,” Aquila closes his eyes for a moment. “Or tunny with shrimp and spicy pumpkin.” Aquila is very particular to pumpkin.

Steve snorts good-naturedly: “Thinking up new recipes seems to be their latest hobby.”

Danny smiles: “Poor Henry lived mostly on porridge on our way here. I think he's still catching up.”

Henry looks at him: “I still think they should maybe take less passengers and more provisions on board. If they didn't have so many berths for dragons, they'd have more room for refrigerated storage facilities.”

Danny sighs: “Haven't we been over this?”

“Yes, but we didn't come to a satisfying conclusion.”

Aquila raises his head: “Should we write to port authority?”

“No writing to any authorities,” Steve says, sternly. “And I'm not sure they'd be the ones to address anyway.”

Huffing, Aquila puts his head down again: “I'll ask the harbourmaster next time we're there.”

Henry nudges him: “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Steve and Danny exchange a long look; they have nearly perfected their telepathic skills by now, and Danny knows exactly what Steve is thinking: _Thank God they can't write. We'd probably have Homeland Security on our doorstep twice a month otherwise._

Danny actually thinks that their letters would probably make for some interesting reading.

He regards the fine lines around Steve's eyes, which are more pronounced now that he's amused, and once more feels his happiness bubbling inside him, especially as Steve now smiles at him broadly.

It's the same smile with which he usually tells him to book people, which means for Steve, all is well with the world at present. Which Danny's glad about, since Wo Fat's still out there, and a whole other lot of baggage in addition to that. But there are moments like these which actually serve to equilibrate all the heavy stuff they're dealing with; moments in which they can just look at one another and feel that what they have is so strong that it's almost tangible.

Aquila, who's been watching them, inclines his head towards Henry: “Now _that_ , I believe,” he tells him in a loud whisper, “is what you call 'dopey'.”

“Oh!” Henry exclaims, nodding enthusiastically because this is something he does recognize after all: “Puppy face!”

 

 

The End

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.


End file.
